


Silence, Apart

by littlewanderergg



Series: Silence [2]
Category: Devil May Cry
Genre: Break Up, Breaking Up & Making Up, F/M, Family Drama, Family Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Heartbreak, Pregnancy, Reader-Insert, Sad with a Happy Ending, Slow Build, Unplanned Pregnancy, get ready for really angry dante
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-17
Updated: 2019-11-14
Packaged: 2020-12-21 03:56:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 42,597
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21068441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlewanderergg/pseuds/littlewanderergg
Summary: You and V have been in a relationship for a year when a sudden circumstance forces you to choose between it and the family you formed for yourself.





	1. Promise

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, hello!
> 
> I promised everyone that my first fic "Silence, Slowly" will have bonus chapters... but my internet died on me and those bonus chapters turned into a sequel.
> 
> It just sort of happened. Haha!
> 
> I hope you enjoy this a lot!

_-Flashback from a month and a half ago-_  
  
Today was going to be quite the day.  
  
You started the day with a light jump in your step. You got out of your bed with the birds chirping outside your window. You went to the bathroom, changed your clothes, washed your face, and _tried_ to tie your hair. Your hair was way longer now, its entire length almost to your waist. There were days where you were too lazy to even pay attention to it, but for some reason, you woke up with hair that look extremely nice today. You decided to let it get as much attention as it could. Then, you strutted out of the door, patting Nico’s empty bed on the way. She and Nero were in Fortuna more often now since Nero officially opened Devil May Cry there. You didn’t mind… you sort of missed her, though.

As always, you went down the kitchen to decide what to cook for breakfast. Dante, Lady, and Trish were still probably asleep since they were up pretty late last night, taking care of a mild demon infestation several miles from Red Grave City. However, you knew one person was already up.

“Good morning, my little wanderer...” Two inked hands embraced you from behind and planted a kiss on your cheek as you were slicing strawberries. It was V, the man you love the most in this entire world.

“Good morning, weirdo...” You giggled, shrinking yourself into his embrace. It didn’t take a lot of effort from you since you were already an entire foot smaller than him. Neither of you minded, though. He stayed attached to your back as you continued to slice the fruits and put them in a bowl. Griffon, his bird familiar, flapped his wings into the kitchen and decided to perch beside the fruit bowl. He sneakily tried to peck one piece for himself, but you decided to give him one instead.  
  
“Damn it, Knives...” Griffon laughed, pretending to be offended, “I was trying to steal the strawberry. Why can’t you let a demon be… you know… bad?”  
  
“Oh, maybe some other time, Griff.” You answered with a smile as bright as the sunrise, “I’m in a giving mood today.” You heard V give of a satisfactory huff while resting his chin on your head. Shadow, his panther familiar, came into the kitchen and rubbed his face off on you and V’s legs. A sign of affection and trust for the both of you.  
  
“Hey...” V whispered into your ear, “Do you know what day today is?”  
  
“Hmmm…?” You feigned ignorance. Of course, you knew what today is. You just wanted to hear him say it. With his arms still around your waist, you turned around to face him. Your face challenging him, “What day is it?”

He smiled, and not just one of his normal smirks. He smiled with his teeth showing, and he only showed that smile to you. It kind of sucked because it was such a pretty smile, but you wanted to be selfish and wanted to keep that part of him to yourself. You smiled at him too as he leaned into you for a kiss on the lips. You wrapped your arms around his neck to deepen the kiss. You liked it when he kissed you… _deep_.  
  
“Ooh boy...” You didn’t see but Griffon probably rolled his eyes into another dimension. Without breaking the kiss, V called his familiars back into himself. His tattoos slowly darkening as Griffon and Shadow fully integrated themselves into him.  
  
He broke the kiss, still smiling at you. You had to laugh because it was rare for him to be this demonstrative of his affections, but still, here he was… loving and passionate as ever.  
  
“Happy anniversary, my love.” He greeted you. He kissed your cheek and let go of your waist to hold your hands.

“It’s been a year, huh?” You squeezed his hands. They were soft but calloused. His fingers were long and bony, just like the rest of him was. But they were beautiful… and you didn’t mind it when he used those fingers _in_ you. “Have I been a good girlfriend?”  
  
“I… don’t really know.” He ran his hand through his hair. Like yours, it was longer now too. It was an inch longer past his shoulders. Still, it was a shiny, black mane and it was beautiful, “You’re the first girlfriend I’ve ever had. No point of comparison.”  
  
“Well… there was Nero’s mom.” You had to test him. You knew you shouldn’t, but you couldn’t help yourself.  
  
“Hmm...” V looked into your eyes as he peered closely into your face, “I still don’t remember her, and after living a life with you… I don’t think I ever want to.”

_Correct answer._

He continued, “And besides, _you_are Nero’s mom now. Technically. Even if you’re younger… by two years.”

  
“I just wish he’d stop calling me mom, though...” You wrinkled your nose as you let out a hearty laughter.

“I wish he’d stop calling me dad, too… But we can’t have it all, my love.” V inched his forehead close to yours and decided to laugh with you. 

You decided to suddenly kiss his nose and shoo him away as you were making breakfast pancakes. You put some coffee beans in the coffee maker and decided to boil some hot water for V’s tea (you found out that he actually prefers tea over coffee in the morning, so ever since then, you’ve decided to prepare it for him every day). You decided to fry some eggs and prepare some sausages to go with the pancakes. You knew Dante liked his eggs and sausages, so you decided to make some for him.  
  
The shop became noisier as you were finishing up with making breakfast. Dante’s first act of the day was to play some AC/DC with the jukebox and to greet you with his air guitar playing skills. Lady decided to drop by to hug you and congratulate you on your anniversary. Trish came by the kitchen to help you carry everything out of the kitchen, along with the complaint that Dante and V shouldn’t be idling and helping you out.

It took them an entire year to adjust to you speaking again, and if you were to be honest with yourself, speaking still felt a bit foreign to you. You marveled at how many feelings didn’t have an exact word to them, or how many words in one language didn’t have an exact translation into English. Word were foreign territory, but you were slowly getting used to them.  
  
During breakfast, everyone sat where they usually sit. Lady, at the couch near the fridge. Trish, on the edge of Dante’s desk. Dante, behind his desk with his feet on it. V, on his reading chair --- now a couch --- and you, beside V.  
  
“Hey, you two…” Dante pointed at you and V. V was reading William Blake while sipping on his tea. You were munching on some strawberries. Both of you stopped whatever you were doing to look at Dante, “Don’t you two have plans today? It’s your anniversary, isn’t it?”  
  
“Um…” You stuttered as you looked at V. He closed his book gently and set down his cup on a table beside the couch.  
  
“Yes, we are…” He looked at you, a playful smirk on his lips. A year of him continuously doing that and it still made you blush, god damn it, “…gonna watch a play later tonight. Then, we’ll go to the Hotel Marrion for dinner.”  
  
“The Marrion, huh? Nice and fancy.” Dante smiled at V, giving him finger guns, “Well, anyway. I want the both of you to come with me. I have something to show you.” 

Dante jumped on his heels and headed towards the garage. You and V looked at each other, puzzled. You shrugged and decided to follow Dante with V holding your hand. You saw Trish and Lady’s eyes follow you at the corner of your eye and wonder what was going on. You knew the garage was empty since Nico took the van with her. However, once you and V got there, Dante had his back to a green Dodge Viper with black racing stripes.  
  
“I can’t have you going to The Marrion on foot now, can I?” Dante flashed his signature smile at both you and V. Your jaws were still on the floor. V’s face was unchanged and still pretty cool, but your fingers felt his pulse and it was racing. Dante got the keys from his pocket and threw it over to V, “This car is Devil May Cry property. Technically, it’s mine. But, I’m letting you guys borrow it.”

“Dante, where did you…” You started to ask. Your eyes still wide with surprise.

“Ah, got it from a millionaire human who was summoning low-level demons for sport. Killed the demons. Killed him. Got his car.” Dante nonchalantly shrugged as he tried to mess up your hair while passing you by.  
  
“Thanks, Dante.” V muttered. He tried to sound really cool and composed but you could tell he was over the moon. Dante just waved at him while walking back to his table.

\------

You wrapped yourself around the feeling that even if this wasn’t the first time you were going on a date with V, it still felt as if it was.  
  
You rarely wore dresses, but tonight was different. You wore a short, black dress that hugged you in all the right places. You wore a light gray leather jacket over it and decided to pair the dress with a pair of boots you had lying around. You let your hair down as it is since it was still pretty even if you’ve kept it down the whole day. You put light makeup on your face--- not too much, but enough to highlight your features. You usually carry the entire house with you whenever you go out, but since tonight was special, you just decided to carry your money, a lipstick, and a pack of gum in your tiny bag. You thought about taking a knife with you, but you hoped that no demons would cross your path tonight… or else, you would be very, __very__ ill-prepared.

  
As you walked out of your room, you were surprised to see V coming out of his room as well. You had to catch your breath at the sight of him because he usually never dresses __this__ nice. He was wearing a suit with a white shirt, black pants, black satin vest, black blazer, and black shoes. The only color in his outfit was his tie. It was a dazzling shade of green that matched his eyes. The cherry on top of his outfit was the fact that he had his hair tied in a ponytail, exposing his beautiful face to you.  
  
He must’ve seen you gawking at him when he placed his cane in front of him with a tap and asked, “How do I look?”  
  
You smiled, “You look…” You searched for the right words, but alas, there was none. You bit your lip and settled for the closest word you could think of, “…breathtaking.”  
  
“I could say the same thing about you, my little wanderer…” He planted a kiss on your cheek. He offered his arm as he led you down the stairs. He was acting too gentlemanly when he opened the car door for you. You had to hit him in the arm playfully. You just weren’t used to it. He lifted his lips, giving you a teasing smile as he headed for the driver’s seat. He started the car, and you left the shop a little after six.

Your night started off at the Opera House. You’ve been meaning to watch this play for ages, but since you always had to be away on a mission with the crew or you had to watch the shop, you could barely squeeze some time for it in. V surprised you with two tickets for it a few nights ago, along with the announcement that he was going to take you out on a date.

The play was a musical, full of colorful sets and pretty whimsical song numbers. You smiled because you didn’t see yourself doing something like this a year ago… but now, you’re enjoying this beautiful piece of art on this very special day with your boyfriend.  
  
_I have a boyfriend, my god… _You had to secretly pinch your side in order to be sure. V was looking at the stage, the look of permanent bemusement was on his face. The theater was dark, and the only lights that shone were the lights on stage. The reflection of the light bounced off onto his skin, highlighting those little nooks and crannies you love about his face so much.  
  
_V must stand for Very Handsome_…__ You thought to yourself, eliciting a quiet giggle. V rolled his eyes towards your direction and narrowed it, asking you what you were laughing at. You shook your head and leaned into his shoulder. He put his arm around you, gently caressing your head as you watched on.  
  
The production ended at around nine o’clock. The night breeze greeted you as you left the opera house, still holding onto V’s arm. The air was a soft kiss on your cheeks and you welcomed it. You let out a satisfied sigh as V walked you to the car.  
  
“So…” Your voice trailed, “Where do we go next?”

“Dinner. The Hotel Marrion.” He said briefly as he opened the car door for you. You thanked him and entered in.

You arrived at the hotel in less than half an hour. You remembered this hotel when it was still a giant mess, brought about by the Qliphoth infestation. You were amused at what a few human beings can do after a crisis. Now, the Hotel Marrion stood more glamorous than ever.  
  
V led you to the hotel’s restaurant on the roof deck, overlooking the entire city. Neither you nor V specifically liked city landscapes, but the night was beautiful and Red Grave City had its own gems kept hidden, only to be revealed when night strikes. The lights of the city looked like buzzing fireflies from where you and him were seated. The air was cooler here, although you could feel your cheeks warm up whenever you thought about who you were with.  
  
Your wine arrived, along with a platter of cheese. You took a sip of the alcoholic beverage while looking over the horizon, a quiet sense of happiness taking over your face. The stars danced bewitchingly over you and you imagined your mom looking down on you, with a loving yet playful stare.  
  
_I think I found him, mom… _You thought to yourself, taking another sip of your wine, _I found the love of my life._  
  
“Penny for your thoughts?” V spoke to you as he noticed your stare reach farther and farther into the horizon. He had his own wineglass on hand, but he was swirling the wine inside around idly. His eyes were fixed on you, amused.  
  
“I was just thinking about my mom…” You weakly smiled. You took another sip, feeling the warmth of the alcohol travel down your stomach.  
  
“You were thinking about your mother on our anniversary?” V smirked, amused by your honesty. You mirrored his smile as you placed your wine glass on the table. You cleared both your throat and your mind as you leaned onto the table.

“On the day she…” You still couldn’t say the word _died_, so you just left the sentence hanging. You continued, “She told me that she liked that I didn’t talk… but she knew that I’d find someone I’d want to share my thoughts with. I was just thinking about how I would’ve loved to introduce you to my mom.” A weak smile left your face, “She would’ve loved you.”  
  
“If it was even possible to meet her…” His voice trailed into the evening breeze, “I’d most likely thank her…”

“For what?” You asked, curiosity threatening to explode itself onto your words.

V gently took your hands from across the table, “For raising the woman I’m proud to call my love. You are my home and my refuge. My strength and my inspiration. She may have left you too soon… but she left you to us--- to me. I’d thank her for that.” 

“V…” Your voice softly mentioned his name. You wanted to thank him for saying those things. They truly warmed your heart. Your cheeks were blushing again, you could tell. This was because V had his teeth-wide grin at you and you hid behind your hair to avoid the embarrassment.

He lifted the corner of his lips at you, “What? Speechless?” You could hear a mild laugh leave him. Both of you had difficulty speaking your minds out, and you thought the both of you were improving. But it seemed to you that V was putting in more effort. You made a mental note to improve your speaking skills soon.

You nodded in response, “Yeah. Pretty much.”

“I have…” V spoke, “…an idea.”

“Huh?” You just looked at him, narrowing your eyes. You were confused as to what he meant.

“Y/N.” V looked at you, his stare was intense but soft. Like a waterfall crashing on a rock. He was the only person you’ve ever told your real name to. That was sort of saying that you trusted him more than anyone else in this world. Still, him saying it sent tingles up your spine that called for your attention immediately. He stood up and held out his hand to you, signaling you to stand up. You took his hand and as soon as his palms closed on it, he started leading you away from your table. He gestured to the restaurant staff to bill your room number for dinner.  
  
_Your room number? _Your brow raised in question as V gently led you towards the elevator. You could see his hand grip his cane a bit tighter as the elevator descended to a designated floor. As soon as the elevator opened, V’s grip felt tighter as he practically dragged you to Room 1707. You saw him fish for a key card from his back pocket and he opened the door with it. He let go of you and, with one hand, led you inside the room. You slowly stepped in so that you can have a moment to look at the room. The room was nice and spacious. The carpeted floor was nice and the queen-sized bed had white linen sheets on them. There was dim light everywhere and the room smelled of roses.

“Y/N…” V said softly as he approached you from the back, wrapping his arms around you. You could tell he already had his blazer off. You placed your hands on his and closed your eyes. You listened to him breathing down your ear, a familiar heat starting to course through your veins. You hummed to encourage him to continue.

“After a year, I still don’t have the words…” V held you tighter, his touch getting hungrier and hungrier. You could tell, “…and neither do you.”  
  
“We don’t need them, right?” You told him, softly caressing his arms around your waist.  
  
“You’re right. We do not.” He buried his face on your neck, his lips tracing your skin. You bit your lower lip, trying to stop a moan from leaving your mouth, “But, still… I need to hear you say it.”

You knew exactly what he was talking about. He wanted you to tell him you love him. You haven’t really told him you love him in a while. He probably missed it. He hasn’t told you he loves you in a long time, either. So, you felt his pain. You didn’t want to frustrate him… and besides, tonight was your anniversary. You had to make tonight a night to remember.  
  
You turned to face him, his arms still around you. You reached for his hair tie to release his hair. It cascaded down his face a beautiful black waterfall. Then, you tucked a lock behind his ear and you smiled at him. You heard him exhale, trying to catch his breath. You could feel his heart beating through his chest. Yours was starting to try to escape your chest, too. This feeling… this sensation… it makes you feel so alive.  
  
“V…” You whispered his name. Tenderly, you said, “I love you… so much.”  
  
“I love you, too.” He softly kissed your lips. You could taste the wine on his lips, making your tongue dance along with his. You ran your fingers through his hair as he softly stroked your back, making you squirm. He broke your kiss just to say it again, “I love you so much, Knives”  
  
With a smile, you broke away from his touch and sat at the edge of the bed with your legs crossed. Your eyes expressing a challenge, “Show me.”

\------

The clock struck midnight. The night sky was an enchanting shade of dark blue, and the sky was full of bright, sparkling stars. The lights were turned off in the room and you laid there beside V. Both of you were naked, only covered by the blankets on the bed and enveloped by the warmth of each others’ bodies.

“You know, the sky was exactly like this a year ago, too.” You muttered as you placed your head on his chest. He then wrapped his arm around you and patted your head. He turned to the sky outside the window.  
  
“What is it with you and the sky?” He asked, “You always seem to be looking at it.”

“I just…” You mumbled. Your fingers were tracing circles on his skin, trying to follow the lines of his tattoos on his chest, “I love the sky. It’s open. It’s limitless. It’s immortal. Mankind could literally be wiped out and the sky will always be there, like it always has.”  
  
He gave of a light huff as he kissed your crown, “…Like your love for me?”  
  
“Yes.” You smiled, “Except for the open part. I don’t want to share this with anyone else but you. Call me selfish. Sue me.”

He laughed and looked at you, asking the question, “Do you mean the relationship or the sex?”  
  
“Both.” You bluntly told him, looking up to meet his emerald eyes.  
  
“That could be… arranged.” He smiled again, with his teeth showing. God, he really was so exceptionally handsome, it was making you so angry.

He tapped onto your shoulder, asking you to move back. You removed yourself from his chest as he reached for something inside the bedside table’s drawer. You had to sit up to peek at what he got.

He held it in his hands: A book with an ivory white cover. It didn’t look particularly new, with mild minting around the edges of the hard cover. He ran his fingers on the cover and then handed the book over to you.  
  
“If I get lost in the words of William Blake,” He started, “You could lose yourself in the words of William Yeats.”  
  
“V, I…” You were dumbfounded. You weren’t expecting him to give you anything more after the play, the dinner, and the wild, three rounds of lovemaking. And yet, you had in your hands one final anniversary gift: A book of poetry by William Yeats.

V ran his fingers through your hair, moving them out of your face. He then rested his hands onto your cheek, to which you leaned your entire face into. He recited:  
  
_But I, being poor, have only my dreams;_  
_I have spread my dreams under your feet;_  
_Tread softly because you tread on my dreams._

“Every single night, I dream about you and having a life with you. So, _please_…__” V said, a silent pain hiding behind his sweet words, “Please always be by my side.”  
  
You reached for his face and smiled, a single tear leaving your eye. You replied with:  
  
“Always. I promise.”

_-End of flashback-_

_ _


	2. Heavily Broken

You woke up today with the feeling that something was absolutely and exceptionally _wrong_.

If you thought about it, you were feeling intense headaches as early as a week after your anniversary. They would usually go away with some medicine, but they’d always come back the next day, with a vengeance. Then, you would notice that you’d be feeling faint or lightheaded at random times a day. You even left your potholder inside the soup you were making once. Two weeks after that, you’d start feeling like heavy, lead weights were on your shoulders. This made you feel extra tired and exhausted and there were even some days you just couldn’t get out of bed.

When you felt the worse of it, you would spend your days in isolation. Dante would often ask how you are, and you’d reply with “I’m fine.” Lady would also often give you a concerned look and you’d often assure her that you were alright with a smile. You tried to give Trish the same reassurance but you just wasn’t sure she was buying it (In fact, you weren’t even sure _you_ were buying it).  
  
The one who caught the worst of it was V. He’d often come to your room and want to take care of you, but you just couldn’t find it in your heart to let him see you weak. So, you’d push him away and tell him you’re alright and that you’d be better tomorrow. In the end, even if you wanted him beside you and wanted him to hold you and tell you that everything was fine, you decided to deal with this on your own. Your illness was not his burden to bear, you thought. So, you pushed him away and comforted yourself with the thought that it was just temporary. It was just until you felt better, you thought.  
  
But today---almost a month and a half after your anniversary--- you felt _extremely_ wrong.

The sun still wasn’t up, but you were. In fact, you couldn’t get a wink of sleep--- another thing you’ve started experiencing that was weird and unsettling. As soon as the clock struck one, you felt a ball of hot vomit try to claw its way up your throat. You had to run to the bathroom to make it to the toilet in time. While hunched over, heaving over what little food you could get yourself to eat from the previous night, you tried to remember when the last time you felt this sick was… and you couldn’t remember. For all you knew, this was the first time you’ve ever vomited in your life.

Dante caught word that a slight demon infestation was happening somewhere up the mountains. Since the landscape was full of trees and forestry, he decided it was best for you to come along… but, you couldn’t tell him you haven’t slept a wink, just vomited your dinner, and just overall didn’t feel well. You took a shower, got dressed, holstered your weapons and marched out of your room. You knew you looked like shit. Your ankles felt like they have weights tied to them, but you knew it wouldn’t do anyone good if you decided to stay behind just to __try__ and sleep. So, you decided to soldier on like the good little warrior you are.

There was nothing unusual about the mission. There were simply a few demons hiding out in the forest up the mountains, the remaining few who were left behind and reproduced after the Qliphoth mission. Dante, Trish, and Lady went to the east side of the forest while you and V took the west side. During your last battle, there was this incident where you threw your knife at an Empusa, but for some reason your aim was entirely wrong. You almost hit Shadow, had he not pounced away to kill another demon. You saw V look at you angrily, but deep down in your gut, you had the feeling that you were going to hurl again. While you were clutching your stomach, a Hell Caina tried to swipe you with its scythe, but V pushed you away in time.  
  
“Watch it!” He angrily barked at you. You wanted to apologize, but you had to run and look for a spot where you could puke out whatever you could without being a hassle to anyone, most especially to V. In the end, he practically had to handle all the demons himself while you were spewing stomach chunks from over a cliff. You approached him when the battle was over, and he had a scowl on his face. You wanted to apologize profusely, but you ended up just biting your lower lip.

You sank into your chair once you entered the car with V. Dante, Trish, and Lady were on their motorcycles, so they went ahead. You couldn’t get your mind off of the fact that you made so many blunders today. You kept throwing up while going up the mountain, holding everyone back. You could tell they were relieved when Dante suggested you split into two groups, and that just meant they didn’t want to spend any time dealing with you. The only person who didn’t have a choice was V. So, he had to deal with your bad aims and no-kills… which was strange in itself already. You even almost had yourself sliced in half, had V not been there to save you. You could feel your entire body shiver in a chill, and it wasn’t because you were cringing at your memories. You think it was because of the temperature in the car, but you realized that the air conditioning wasn’t even turned on.

“I’m not even going to ask you if you’re okay… because you’re not.” V declared, his voice was still sharp. You could tell he was still angry, but was trying to put on a more logical, concerned tone. He had his eyes on the road and his hands to the wheel, but you could feel him staring at you from time to time.

You were silent. You were hugging yourself now, because it was just _so god damn cold_.__ Winter isn’t coming for about two months later, so it couldn’t be the temperature outside. You were trying to find out what was wrong with you in the silence of your mind… but you found nothing.

“What is going on with you?” V said, his tone more worried than angry now. You had your eyes closed and you were leaning towards the door, your mind was in a haze. You felt a hand touch your forehead, and all of a sudden, the car screeched to a stop.  
  
“Why are we stopping?” You weakly said, opening your eyes slowly to the early afternoon glare.

“Knives!” V looked at you, his left hand still on the wheel but his right was all over your face, “You have a fever. Your temperature is so high.”

“My…what?” You couldn’t understand what he was saying. You were too tired, too sick, too mentally exhausted… you didn’t think you could handle anything anymore at this point.

V slammed his fist onto the stirring wheel, his anger bubbling up again, “If you were _that_ sick, why didn’t you tell anyone? Why didn’t you tell _me_?”  
  
“I…” You started, but you couldn’t find the words to say. Your eyes stared down at your shoes and your fingers fidgeted at the hem of your shirt.

“You know what? Whatever. I’m taking you home. When we get there, you better rest. You hear me?” He commanded you. He’d never usually be this demanding, but today was hectic and you almost died. He was probably dealing with emotions he still didn’t understand yet. He started the car again, and this time drove even faster. You wanted to tell him to slow down, but you didn’t have the strength to do so. This fever was slowly taking over you, robbing you of your capacity to even think straight. He parked the car in the garage a few hours after. You opened your eyes to see the dim lights of the garage opening and you smelled dust and musk coming from the shelves. You wanted to hurl again, but you knew there was nothing left __to__ hurl.  
  
You opened the door and decided to step out into the car, but you found your knees too weak to hold down your weight. Your mind went blank, your knees locked, and the world went dark as you landed unconscious on the floor.

\------

You opened your eyes to see that it was already nighttime. You looked down to see that your clothes have been changed to a t-shirt and shorts. Your head was still buzzing, but it was simply a dull pain that you could deal with. You touched your stomach and were thankful that it didn’t feel the need to vomit this time around. You knew you still had a fever, but you were sweating so you knew it was going to go away pretty soon.

You saw the bedside table lamp open and it made you look. Half of you wanted it to be V, but it was Trish who entered your room. She had a plate of pizza and a glass of water in her hand. She sat on the edge of your bed and handed the food to you.  
  
“You passed out cold as soon as you got home. V had to carry you into your bed and change your clothes for you. We had to shoo him away because you needed to rest, and he’d probably tire himself out trying to take care of you… _again_.” Trish said, her tone slightly harsh and cold… but that’s how Trish usually sounded, you thought. You took a bite of your pizza, and for some reason it tasted like asphalt. It took all your strength to swallow it, but after you did, you put the slice down and drank some water. You pushed the plate down, silently saying that you didn’t want to eat anymore.

“You need to eat, Knives.” Trish pushed the plate towards you, “You haven’t eaten anything all day.”  
  
You grimaced as you took another bite hesitantly. The taste of chewy, wet asphalt hit your tongue and this time, you had to spit it out. It was disgusting.

  
“Ugh, when did pizza ever taste that bad…?” You said, wiping your mouth with the back of your hand. The aftertaste was still in your mouth, so you took another gulp of water to wash it all down.

“Uh-huh…” Trish raised an eyebrow at you. She took a bite of your pizza and as she was chewing, you were half expecting her to spit out the pizza, but she didn’t. She swallowed and then looked at you, “Tastes fine to me.”  
  
You were silent, your fingers tapping onto the glass of water you were holding. You were starting to get worried. What if something was wrong with you? What if you were really sick…? What if…?  
  
You didn’t notice Trish leaving the room. You only realized it when she came back and was holding something in her hands. Before you could even ask her what it was she was holding, she asked you a question.  
  
“When was your last period?” She asked, bluntly.  
  
“Uh… last month?” You searched your brain for an answer, but even that you weren’t sure. Your uncertainty must’ve been pretty obvious on your face since Trish just crossed her arms across her chest.  
  
“Hmmm…” Trish looked at you, her eyes were cold yet concerned. She handed you what she was holding, and cleared her throat, “Here. Pee. On this stick. Now.”  
  
“What…?” You asked her. You didn’t really know what you were holding or why she was telling you to go pee.  
  
“Just do it, Knives. Please?” Her tone was a bit warmer now, she held the stick closer to you, “I won’t leave until you’re done, so please…”

You knew Trish to be very persistent, so you had to follow her or else she’ll never leave. You wanted to sleep, you wanted to be alone… but you found your feet on the ground and walked towards the bathroom. You took the stick, removed the end that covered the absorbent end, decided to relieve yourself on it, and looked at the stick.

“Ummm… Trish?” You screamed from inside the bathroom, “What am I looking at?”

“Give it five minutes. You’ll know.” She replied. She was still in the room. You could hear her boots pacing nervously on the floor. You tapped your feet onto the bathroom tiles and every second felt like forever. After five minutes (that felt like an eternity), you left the bathroom.

“So…?” Trish approached you. She was trying so hard to hide that she was worried, and you think she’s starting to break now. Your eyes were blank and you weren’t sure if you were still breathing. You handed the stick back to her, your hands shaking as you did. She took it from you and looked.

Trish looked at the stick and then to you, shocked, “Oh my god, Knives. You’re…” 

You looked at your stomach, your hands instinctively caressing it. There were two blue lines on the little window on the stick, and you knew. You finished her sentence for her, your tone helpless and in despair.  
  
“…_Pregnant_.”  
  
Everything fell silent. You could feel your knees weakening again, but you tried to hold on. Trish had to lead you over to your bed for you to sit down. She then returned to the door and locked it. You wanted to cry… but you knew you couldn’t. No tears were coming. Your heart was a mess of fear, anxiety, helplessness. You didn’t know what to do or if you could do anything, even. Your hands gripped tightly onto your sheets, your eyes fixed onto your stomach. There was a child growing in there now. You were in charge of letting it grow healthy and happy… but, were you ready?  
  
_Was V ready?_

Your head snapped up with the realization, seeing Trish looking at you. She was obviously worried now. Her cold exterior melted away to show that motherly instinct in her. She sat on the other end of the bed, silent. She was waiting for you to talk… but how could you? You didn’t even know where to begin.

Your thoughts returned to V. He was technically only just a year and a few months old in his new body. He still had a lot to learn, a lot to see… You still had to show him a lot of things. He made you promise that you’d remain by his side, but with this child slowly growing inside you, you weren’t sure if you could keep that promise. Before, you’d gladly take a blow for him because you love him… recklessly, and without abandon. But now, you weren’t sure you’d do the same thing. You were carrying a child---__his child__. If push comes to shove and you were made to choose between saving V and saving his child, you were unsure which one you loved more to save. This scared you so much you started shaking. You weren’t ready to become a mother, but you didn’t feel like you had a choice anymore. Killing the child was out of the question, you thought. Giving it away would break you into pieces, too. You wanted to keep the child, but you were scared and ill-prepared. You were sure V isn’t ready to become a father. He was still too young for that. It was still too early for him.

All of a sudden, you felt so alone. The world was so cold… so unforgiving.

“Knives…” Trish held onto your shoulder, softly caressing it, “What do you want to do?”  
  
“…Please.” You had to beg, your voice cracking as you whispered, “Don’t tell V.”

“But Knives, he’s---” Trish started to argue, but tears started coming out of your eyes and it made her stop.

“_Please._” You had to beg again, your voice heavily in pain and broken. Your eyes were red, burning, and stinging from the tears, “He can’t know. He isn’t ready.”

\------

Trish exited your room to leave you alone for a while. You had to promise her you weren’t going to do anything stupid to yourself. Then, you covered your entire body with the blanket on your bed and cried. You heard her footsteps grow farther and farther away until you heard the door click closed as she left the room. As soon as she did, you pulled down your blanket over your knees and faced the ceiling, still softly sobbing. Your hand reached for your stomach again. It didn’t really feel any different, but you knew that something --- _someone_\--- was in there, slowly growing by the minute. You felt like you wanted to apologize to it, but at the same time, you wanted to reprimand it for choosing such a weak mother such as yourself.  
  
Your thoughts were a mess, and so were you. You felt like you were falling apart, and had you been the only occupant of your body, you would’ve let yourself crumble. You were torn between being broken for yourself and being strong for the child in you. It was a horrible place to be in alone… and you had to be alone in this for nine whole months.

Time moved so slowly and you barely moved. You still had a slight fever and your body still hurt. You didn’t want to eat, but you knew you had to if you wanted the baby to survive in you so, with heavy steps, you decided to march out of your room into the kitchen. The clock read almost eleven o’clock and you knew everyone would be in their rooms by then… or at least, you prayed they were. You really didn’t have the strength, courage, or patience to deal with anyone at this point. All you wanted was to go to the kitchen, grab some food that wouldn’t make you vomit, go to back to your room, and wallow in your misery.

You got to the kitchen without bumping into anyone, thankfully. Dante was probably in his room, Trish and Lady were probably somewhere else (hopefully, Trish can keep a secret), and V was probably reading somewhere. With a sigh, you reached into the kitchen cupboard to grab a pack of crackers but before you can get some, a hand reached into the cupboard and held out the crackers to you. 

It was V. And, oh dear god, were you speechless… and not in a good way.

  
You didn’t notice, but his hair was shorter now. He probably cut it back to its original length some time ago. He was wearing a cotton shirt and pants and looked like he was getting ready to sleep. He held out the crackers to you, and you took the pack from his hands but as you did… he closed his hands to grab yours. Based on how gently he held you, you could see he just wanted to talk, but you didn’t have the strength for it now.

“What do you want, V?” You asked him, your voice showed just how spent you were feeling. You couldn’t let him see your eyes because he’d know you’ve been crying.

“I think…” He started, not letting go of your hand, “…we need to talk.”

“About what?” Your eyes were looking down. You wanted this to be over and done with as soon as possible.

“There is something going on with you…” He let go of your hand and took a seat on the kitchen table. He put his cane on his right side. His eyes looked at you from head to toe, looking for something, but you remained standing there with your hands around the cracker packet.  
  
“I’m just really tired, V…” With your head down, you tried to excuse yourself from the kitchen but V’s voice rang a bit louder just before you could reach the door.

“You’ve been acting strange for almost a month… and you would not even let me help you.” He directly told you. It made you freeze where you were standing. It was true that you pushed him away and didn’t want him to see you weak but… all the more, you didn’t want him to see you now. He approached you, slowly and cautiously, and asked, “Is there something wrong… with us?”

“No.” You answered curtly. You just really wanted to get out of there. As you tried to walk away, you felt his hand reach for your elbow and grab you.

“Knives, please.” He was begging you, “Tell me. What’s wrong?”

“I just…” You faced him, your head still looking towards the ground, “…I’m tired, I’m sick, and I need time away from you.”

V had that surprised look on his face as he raised his eyebrow at you, “Away from…_me?_”

“Yes… So, please.” You shook his hand away from your elbow, but he just wasn’t letting go. He held even tighter, trying to stop you from going.

“So, you _do_ have a problem with me?” V asked you, his tone getting more and more aggressive with each word. You could tell he was confused and most likely hurt, but he wanted answers from you… answers you couldn’t give him. He just wasn’t ready for that.

“No, I don’t, V. You’re not the problem…” You tried to assure him, but your voice cracked at the end. You could tell you were about to cry again, but you bit your tongue and kept swallowing to prevent your throat from sobbing.

He held your face with his hands and lifted it. He was gentle, but it was the gentleness that was too much to bear. It hurt. You didn’t feel like you deserved it. It wasn’t what you wanted or needed right now. You needed to be alone. He looked into your eyes as you tried to look away and was greeted by the red and the puffiness.

“Were you… _crying_?” He asked. He was so confused now. You could see it on his face. You wanted to tell him, but you just wasn’t sure how he was going to react. You were scared. You knew he wasn’t ready to become a father. His life was still all about killing demons and putting his life on the line. You couldn’t do that anymore… but, that meant leaving his side.  
  
That meant breaking your promise.

You slapped his hand from your face and looked down again, you were biting your lip when you said, “I don’t have the mental capacity to deal with anything right now. I’m sorry.”

“You’re sorry?” Venom spew everywhere from V’s mouth. You now knew he was angry, “You’re _sorry?_”

You continued to bite your lip as you listened. You decided to let him blow his top off then just head to your room. But, he went on this entire tirade.  
  
“I don’t know if you don’t notice this, Knives, but _I’m_ your partner. I’m supposed to be helping you! But you just wouldn’t let me!” He paced onto the kitchen, hearing his heavy footsteps stomping onto the tiled floor, “That would have been fine with me if you remained active in the shop, but _you didn’t_. You stayed in your room and you even lock your door so that no one could get in. I would have forgiven that… I would have understood. But, _you_…__” He was pointing at you with his cane now. He never points at you with his cane. He’d reserve that action for monsters and demons. Now, he’s pointing it at you, “You compromised the entire team today by going to the mission sick, and all you have to say is ‘__I_’m sorry_’?”

“What do you want me to say, huh?” Your shoulders slumped and your breathing shallow. You just really wanted this to be over and done with. You couldn’t take it anymore.

“An explanation would suffice.” V crossed his arms across his chest.

“I can’t do that.” You gritted your teeth as you lied. You could explain it to him, but you couldn’t even make sense of it within yourself. Nothing was making any sense anymore.

“Knives!” He raised his voice, “I know you have an explanation for why you were acting the way you did. You cannot fool me.”

“Well, maybe I do.” You said, tears starting to form into your eyes. You tried not to let them fall, but you were failing, “But, you’re just not ready to hear it.”

“Try me.” He challenged you, opening his chest up to you.  
  
“No.” You turned him down, firmly, “I won’t tell you. You don’t need to hear it.” 

“God damn it, Knives!” He slammed his cane into the kitchen table. It made you jump and honestly, it was making you scared. You were silent, and so was he. You wanted to apologize some more. You wanted to hold him and tell him everything would be fine… you just had to figure stuff out. But he was just so angry… at you, at the situation, probably at himself. So, you decided to stand still with tears steadily falling down your eyes.

“You…” He started to mutter. His voice cold, distant, and stabbing, “…don’t trust me, do you?” Silence enveloped you. You couldn’t answer anymore. He was never going to listen, even if you say you do trust him. You just stayed there, your hands in a fist, slowly crushing the crackers you were holding.

The sigh he released held so much anger in it. You could feel him despising you more and more with every second. You wanted this all to be a bad dream. You wanted to wake up… but this was reality, and you had to face it.

“I don’t _need_ you, then. You’re powerless, helpless, and pathetic.” He told you, bluntly. You felt something rip in the fabric of reality. You looked at him, tears continuously streaming down your eyes. The world used to be cold… Now, it was freezing. You felt frostbite creeping slowly into your chest. Your lungs froze. Your lips shook, trying to say something--- _anything_… __but you couldn’t find the words.  
  
_You don’t mean that… _You thought, _You can’t…_  
____  
__“I have no need for _useless_ people in my life.” He continued, as he left you standing in the kitchen. You felt a string snap between you and him, disconnecting the both of you forever. You wanted to run to him, tell him you were sorry, explain to him that you were pregnant and carrying his baby, and that you love him… but this was reality. You’ve seen him angry, and it scared you. He was angry right now, at everything… including you. Who knows what he was capable of doing when anger reigned. You were left there, in the kitchen, crying your eyes out with no one to hear you. You couldn’t take it anymore. Today was the worst day of your life, you thought.

However, it remained that right then and there, he just broke up with you. You knew it was your fault, too. You should’ve told him, but it was too late now. He said it so himself. He didn’t need you… not anymore. It took all the strength you had to will your tears to stop. You breathed deeply and straightened your back. You marched out of the kitchen and headed to your room. There was only one thing you could do that would make sense.  
  
You had to leave.

You changed your clothes. You wore your denim jeans, an oversized t-shirt, your leather jacket, and your combat boots. You took enough change of clothes and underwear to last you a week. You took your toiletries and toothbrush from the bathroom and put them all in your duffel bag. You grabbed some money and placed it all in your pockets. You then packed all your knives and your guns safely inside your bag. Your hand traveled to the pictures on your bedside table and you decided to get the photo of your mother and you. You didn't even bother to look at the others... They stung too much. You zipped up your bag and started to leave with it when you saw something peek from under your pillow. The ivory cover and worn out, golden letters gave it away.

It was V’s last and only anniversary gift to you. The book of poetry by William Yeats.

You kept it under your pillow because you’d read a few pages before going to bed. Sometimes, you’d spend time with V, silently reading your poetry books together in the lobby. This book made you remember all of the times when you and him were actually happy. It reminded you of a time when you thought nothing would ever end… not like this. Not like the way everything _actually _ended. A part of you wanted to put it in your bag to remember him by, but a part of you didn’t want to remember him at all. It hurt to be reminded of how much you love him. It hurt to be reminded how much it hurt when he said he no longer needed you. He was the only one to ever make you feel like everything was going to be fine… but that’s gone now. It was going to be very difficult, but you just had to believe that you were going to be fine even if all the evidence points to the contrary.  
  
You held the book in your hand, wrote a note on a post-it, and stuck it on the cover. Then, you tiptoed down the stairs and entered the lobby. The shop was dark now. All the lights were turned off, with only the moonlight as its main source of illumination. Your feet brought you in front of V’s brown, leather reading couch. You held the book in front of you and gave it a kiss. With your broken heart breaking even further, you put the book on the couch. You willed yourself to walk away. You told yourself you wouldn’t look back into the shop as you went out, but you had to give yourself that one last chance. You thought you might never come back… so you said you deserved one last look.

You looked at V’s reading couch, Dante’s chair and desk, the kitchen doorway, the doorway to the garage, the stairs, the doors to the rooms, Dante’s posters of half-naked women on the dirty walls, and the jukebox. Your memories flashed before your eyes of the crew ---_your family_\--- laughing and joking around. You remembered Lady hugging you or trying to tickle you, Trish joking around about your height or impersonating you when you still didn’t talk, Dante making the most out of his dated dance moves or him tucking you under his arm and messing up your hair…  
  
And V.  
  
You remembered how his beautiful, green eyes that always shone like polished emeralds looked at you, his black mane that was always so soft, his soft lips that would always find a reason to kiss you, his inked body that you love to lose yourself into, his gentle touch that always made you feel like all is well and will be well, his bright smile that would always take your breath away...

A tear left your eye and it broke you heart to say goodbye, but you knew you had to leave. With all the remaining strength you had left, you turned your heel and marched away from Devil May Cry. You headed into the night, thinking of a destination you could head to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!
> 
> I hope you liked this chapter. It's pretty heavy, because of the unwanted pregnancy news and our softboi being all angry. You can understand. He was left hanging, and he doesn't really have the best grasp on emotions.
> 
> But I can promise you, it gets better.
> 
> This is also my second chapter of the day. I'm working on the third as we speak right now, so please watch out for it.
> 
> Love you all! Thank youuuu! <3


	3. Apart

V stayed in his room, letting his anger ebb and flow inside him. He tossed and turned on his bed, trying to silence his mind and go to sleep… but he was just so _infuriated_. Knives was infuriating him, and that fact has its teeth deeply anchored into his bones. It has kept him from silencing his mind and drifting away into sleep. His anger simply kept waking him up.  
  
He knows he’s been angry before. He was angry when he saw those Angelos way back when they went after the Qliphoth roots. He was angry when Nero was too stubborn to see that he wasn’t helping Dante. He was angry at himself when he left you hanging that night you confessed to him. But… he hasn’t been _this_ kind of angry. Previously, his anger felt like a rampaging forest fire, ready to devour everything in its path. Now, this anger felt like a cold glacier in the middle of a turbulent blizzard. The coldness slowly seeped its way into his chest, numbing him and yet, making him feel everything tenfold at the same time.

You and V haven’t even talked in almost a month. That in itself was strange, he thought. You were constantly sick, but you weren’t letting him help you __at all__. He felt you push him farther and farther away, and he felt so… _powerless_. He’d see you struggle with simple things, but you’d always wave him away and tell him you were fine. He noticed the color from your face slowly drain away day by day, but you’d always smile at him and tell him you were okay. He also knew you were vomiting regularly, but you’d come out of it as if nothing happened. Clearly, something was going on and you didn’t trust him enough to tell him. You didn’t trust him enough to help you.  
  
_She doesn’t need me,_ V thought, _So, I don’t need her._  
  
He turned to the other side of his bed and faced the window. He noticed the sun was starting to rise up from the horizons, the air remaining chilled even with the sun. He embraced himself for warmth and remembered how, in the past, you were probably the warmest and happiest person in the crew. You always had a smile on your face and were always kind to people. When you started talking, you’d always greet everyone when you saw them in the morning. Your laughter and your smile could brighten an entire room. You always walked with a skip in your step and, once you and V started dating, you’d always be by his side… like you promised.  
  
“_Good morning, weirdo_.__” would always be your greeting to V, and he’d loved how you smiled slightly after mildly insulting him.   
  
How did you turn into that warm ray of sunshine to that dense ball of nothingness? You were weak, powerless, and helpless… You even almost gotten yourself killed had he not been there to save you yesterday. He asked for an explanation for your actions and yet _you denied him even that_. Your smile disappeared… and it turned into those bitter tears you were crying. You no longer left your bed. You weren’t silent, but people rarely got to talk to you. The most anyone could get from you was “I’m fine” or “I’m okay”, which were obviously lies.

He wanted to deny that he was still very worried about you. He looked into your eyes last night and saw that you’ve been crying. But his emotions were overcome with confusion as to why you wouldn’t even tell him what was going on with you. You kept all your cards so close to your chest and you denied him a peek… and yet, you told him you trusted him the most? It doesn’t make sense. _Nothing made sense._

V found that the more he dug for an explanation to the situation, the angrier he got. The more he looked into the past for a reason, the deeper into the rabbit hole he fell… and it was not a good feeling.

_Why did you change? _He cursed, _Why the fuck did you have to turn into someone like that?_  
____  
__A part of him wanted to release Griffon just so that he’d have someone to talk to, but the other half of him knows that the demon bird wouldn’t even know what to say. There’s a very high chance he’d actually take your side. He knows his familiars like you an awful lot, even if they don’t admit it. V always had you to talk to whenever things such as emotions bothered him… But what should he do if the thing that triggered such emotions was _you?_

He looked at the clock to see it read half past eight o’clock. The sun was already shining brightly outside. He knew you were the type to wake up bright and early to prepare breakfast for the entire crew, but you were sick and might not really be feeling up to it.  
  
_And besides… I practically broke up with her last night. Shit. _He thought. Like him, you were probably up in your bed. For all intents and purposes, you were probably crying. V counted on you not getting any sleep as well. He sat up and scoffed. He thought that you should lose some sleep over him. That should make you change your mind about explaining things to him. He knew he deserved an explanation, and no matter how sick you were, he knew it was _his right_ to get it from you.

At the very least, you should apologize for pushing him away.  
  
The sun’s light and his lack of sleep was making V’s head hurt quite a bit. He ran his hands through his temples and through his hair when he heard heavy footsteps coming towards his door. The door creaked and Dante peeked in. He was wearing a very loose, long sleeved shirt and pants that were bunched up to halfway through his calves, and he was barefoot. It seemed, based on his wild bed hair, that he just scrambled off his bed.

“Uh, V?” He started, “Would you happen to know if Knives is feeling alright?”

Irritation was coming over V but he couldn’t let Dante see it, so he simply answered, “No. Why?”

Dante narrowed his eyes at V, looking at him suspiciously. He was about to comment on it, but decided to continue with his line of questions first, “Uh… it’s almost nine in the morning and we still don’t have breakfast. Could you go check up on her?” Dante said, “Knives had a fever yesterday. Made me wonder if she was feeling alright…”  
  
_Of course, she isn’t… _V scoffed, silently. He continued to massage his temples as he dangled his feet off the bed. He grabbed his cane from the bedside table and stood up. He moved Dante out of his way and turned to move towards the direction of your and Nico’s room. He hasn’t heard the door open all night nor did he hear any footsteps coming from this direction, so he knew you were either still asleep (if you could sleep), still unwell, or still being the asshole that you were. V didn’t reveal to Dante the argument you and he had last night. V didn’t think it was anyone else’s business… yet. Although, he knew he’d have to explain it someday. Especially when people notice that you two don’t talk anymore.

Dante followed him to the door. V knocked three times and wasn’t surprised to find no one answering. He heavily sighed and thought you probably didn’t want to talk to anyone. You did say you didn’t have the mental capacity for anything anymore. But still…  
  
V knocked again thrice, this time with heavier hits towards the wooden door.  
  
_More silence._

V could feel Dante’s stare become heavier on the back of his neck. He knew that even Dante could tell that there was something wrong going on between you and V. He could solidify that claim by the fact that you were either unable or, more likely, refusing to answer the door. V tried the knob and oddly, it turned to open the door. If you were sick and wanted people out of your room, you usually locked your door. The mere fact that it wasn’t told V that there was something else at play here. You could’ve easily forgotten to lock it, but he never pegged you for the forgetful type… and knowing how he talked to you last night, locking it would be top priority. V opened the door with Dante slowly following suit. V turned to the right side to look at your bed to find it… __empty__. Your bed was neatly made and your sheets were folded properly by the ends of the bed.  
  
_Odd… _V wrinkled his brows, _You’re not in your room._  
  
“Knives?” Dante called out to you, thinking you were in the bathroom. Dante opened the door and found the bathroom empty.   
  
V could feel a dark cloud hanging over his head and something heavy weighing down on his shoulders. There was something completely wrong with this picture. He went to your clothes’ cabinet and opened it. He found some of your clothes missing, and so was a pair of boots. He looked under your bed to find that all your knives and guns were gone as well. He looked to your bedside table to find pictures of the entire crew together, with him and you locked in an embrace. There were pictures of you, Nico, and Nero in the garage, looking pretty scruffy and dirty. There were even pictures of you and V together, smiling at each other. But a picture frame was empty…  
  
_…but where’s the photo?_ V asked himself as he took the frame from the surface. He remembered this was the picture frame that contained the picture of you and your mom but… the photo was now gone.  
  
“V… What’s going on?” Suddenly realizing what the situation is, Dante asked him, but V was overwhelmed with thoughts of his own… thoughts that he couldn’t put to words. There was a sincere panic in him… a panic that he’s never felt before. He was… _scared._ He was still angry at the entire situation--- at you not needing him or giving him an explanation… but he was more scared. Of what, he didn’t exactly know. He just knew that there was this cold air blowing onto the back of his neck, giving him goosebumps.  
  
A bad omen. A very intensely bad feeling.   
  
Dante left the room and started calling for you inside the shop, hoping you were simply around the area. Dante went to the kitchen, the garage, and the front door but found no one. V followed behind him. He was supposed to go to the garage, but something caught his eye.  
  
Something white.

It was laying on top of his reading couch. It was the book that he gave you for your anniversary. The poetry book was simply laying there, silent and cold. But as V approached it, he saw a bright pink post-it on the cover. The gentle yet beautiful cursive letters could only come from one hand: Yours.

He held the book gingerly, almost shaking. He then looked closer into the note written on the post-it. It read:

_I am sorry for treading too roughly on your dreams._

_I am sorry for breaking my promise to always be by your side._

_I am so sorry._

_Farewell._

_ _

He read the note with your voice in his head. He could hear you, bright as day.That last farewell struck a chord in him. He ran his fingers over the word, wracking his head for the reason why you would even write down the word with such depth and finality. His eyes traveled to the top of the stairs and he saw an image of you… eyes red from crying, hair a mess, and a bag over your shoulder. You went down the stairs, making sure you made no sound. You held the book before you and put it down, letting your had rest on it quite a bit before forcing yourself to let go. His image of you walked towards the front door and looked at the entire shop. He saw you looking at him, a single tear running through your cheek.  
  
_Farewell._  
______  
“V! Where the fuck is Knives?” Dante approached him with quick strides, his voice erupting with worry. Trish and Lady were on top of the stairs, overlooking the two men who were looking for you. Dante’s loud voice must’ve woken them. Lady was looking very confused, and Trish had a finger on her lips, looking very worried. Dante then grabbed V by the shoulders to turn him around. Dante snatched the book away from V’s hands and read the post-it note, too.  
  
“Farewell? What does she mean ‘farewell’?” Dante shook his head upon recognizing your handwriting and processing your words.  
  
The details all came crashing down on V. You were sad and you were sick. He made you face his wrath last night and even broke up with you because of it. Your missing things could only mean you packed a bag. You not being in the shop could only mean one thing now.

You left.

You were _gone_.  
  
“No…” V’s voice shook with that realization. His fear was slowly taking over him. His muscles tensed and his bones froze. He tried to move his feet, but he couldn’t. He wanted to know where you were, follow you… maybe, even hold you. But you were gone. You left without a word to anyone. You could be hundreds of miles from them by now… and no one would know where you were or if you were alright.

And V knew it was his fault.  
  
“V…” Dante spoke, his voice cold and harsh. He tapped onto the cover of the book and said, “You have a lot of explaining to do.”

\--- ---

Your boots made a crackling sound as it hit the asphalted roads after spending the night in a ferry boat. You spent a good half hour walking aimlessly last night only to find your feet directly leading you towards the ferry boats going to Fortuna. The last boat was about to leave and you decided that it was probably a good time for you to go home, even just for a bit.

The captain recognized you and offered you a free ride, to which you gladly accepted. You sat on the upper deck chairs, and remembered that a year ago, this was where you sat with V. You could still feel the warmth of his hand on yours, the scent of tea surrounding you. You had to shake off that thought… you didn’t want to think of him right now. In fact, you didn’t want to think of anything. You just wanted to be lost between the sky and the sea. You wanted to disappear into the sea breeze and mix with the moonlight.  
  
_“I have no need for useless people in my life.”_  
_  
_V’s voice echoed in your head and it cut your heart like the knives your so dearly loved. He called you useless, powerless, helpless, and pathetic… All of those things you weren’t. But, you also knew that was how you looked like to him, especially with how you’ve treated him in the past few weeks. You knew you had to push him away because you didn’t want him to see you weak… and yet, that was exactly how he saw you anyway.  
  
_There was no winning in that fight, that’s for sure. _You sighed as you looked towards the horizon. You knew you were at fault somehow… but there’s no turning back now. You’ve made up your mind. He broke up with you so you’re stuck with taking care of his child.

You were able to catch some restless sleep on the chairs. The captain woke you up to tell you that the boat has docked. With that, you thanked him, got your bag, and left.

You inhaled the scent of the sea and went on your way. Your hand went to your belly without a thought and you looked at it. The thought was still new to you, and yet, you felt that there really was no other option now. The child planted itself in your womb and it chose you whether you liked it or not. You had to take care of yourself if you wanted to make sure your child would survive. So, you kept walking with a location in mind. It took you several hours to get there, passing by several other people who were walking along the streets. You had to admit you felt like an outsider, even if you were from Fortuna yourself. But then again, you’ve always felt like an outsider here. You shrugged and thought that it must be for the best. It was already mid-morning when your boots stopped near the metal shutters of a garage. A loud jukebox was playing on the inside while mechanical sounds rhythmically erupted from the van inside. You knew it was Nico tinkering with the Minotaurus. Its been months since you last seen her and you missed her, but you were saddened by the thought that a situation like this could bring you both together again after a while.  
  
“Hey, Nico. I’m going in for a glass of water. Want some?” Nero’s voice sounded out from the inside. You smiled softly, knowing that Nero was there, too. You wanted to run in, hug them both, and tell them you missed them… but your feet froze.

“Yeah, dude. Get the pitcher.” Nico laughed as she inhaled a giant puff of smoke from her cigarette. She then continued to tinker with stuff underneath the hood.

You saw Nero enter the orphanage. That was when you got your feet to move. You lifted the metal shutters from the garage entrance, making a sound. Nico turned and saw you. In that instant, you saw her eyes sparkle as she ran to you.  
  
“Knives!” She barked like an excited puppy. Her lips let go of the cigarette she just lit, but her face was too bright and happy to even care. Without saying any more words, she hugged you very tightly. You needed that hug, you thought. You really did. You could tell Nico missed you, too.

Nico then let go of you and looked around. It was only now that she noticed you were alone. _Really _alone. She held onto your shoulders, her smile slowly dropping. She asked you, “Knives… where’s everyone else? Where’s Dante? Where’s V?”

“Th---” You started, but your words got caught in your throat. You bit your lip as you eyes watered. You tried to stop yourself from crying, but looking at a concerned Nico wasn’t doing you any favors. Nico continued to search for the answer in your silence, but as soon as the first tears dropped from your eyes, she knew. She hugged you and patted your head. You dropped your bag and hugged her as tight as you could. You started sobbing really loudly and grasping at the clothes on her back. You didn’t realize how much pain you were holding in until now. Your heart hurt and you couldn’t breathe. You couldn’t talk. You couldn’t even think. There was just this raw pain inside you, and no amount of tears could ever make it go away.

“Yo, Nico! What’s going---” Nero ran to the garage upon hearing your wailing. Kyrie was right behind him, looking pretty worried. Nico looked at them with you still in her arms. You were still crying, holding onto Nico for dear life.

“Isn’t that… Knives?” Kyrie looked at Nero with a worried expression. Nero could just nod but he didn’t quite understand what was going on. He looked around to see that you didn’t bring anyone with you. He handed the pitcher he was holding to Kyrie and approached you and Nico. He got your bag from the floor and held your shoulder.

“Hey…” Nero spoke to you, his voice was soft and uncertain… but comforting. You were able to catch yourself a break and momentarily stop sobbing violently. You wiped the tears from your eyes with the back of your hand as Nico let go of you. You gave a weak smile as Nero hugged you as well. He tapped your back and said, “Let’s go inside. You look like shit.”

Nero handed your bag to Nico who then led you to her room. She opened the door and you were immediately hit by an overwhelming smell of old burnt cigarettes. She had an ashtray in every corner of the room, and each ashtray had a lot of cigarette butts and ashes in there. You made a mental note to clean them all up later.  
  
“No way I’m leavin’ you alone, little missy. You’re stayin’ with me.” She muttered as she placed your bag on a chair near the door. You let out an exhausted huff as you looked at her. Suddenly, you started feeling a bit lightheaded. It was only then that you realized that you haven’t eaten anything at all.  
  
“I’m sorry, Nico… But do you have anything I could eat? I haven’t eaten anything all day yesterday and my body’s giving out…” You said, trying not to wobble while you stood.

“Oh, my sweet pretty rainbow unicorn, I got ya.” Nico pointed at you, still looking a bit worried, “I’ll prepare somethin’. You just get cozy and relax. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”  
  
Nico rushed out of the room and headed to the kitchen. Kyrie followed suit to help her out. Nero was simply left standing by the door, staring at you curiously. You sat on Nico’s bed and tried to relax as best as you could, but you failed. Nero approached you, sitting by your side and cleared his throat.  
  
“Hey…” Nero started, “Did something happen back in Red Grave?”

You looked at him. He looked like an expectant child looking to you for answers. You knew it was really strange to come by Fortuna unannounced. You coming alone was making it all the more fishy. To make things worse, you crying in Nico’s arms doesn’t really leave a lot unanswered. But, you had barely any strength left and you wanted to rest.  
  
“Let’s… talk later, okay?” You told him, “I’m really tired.”  
  
“And hungry?” He asked you, giving off a shy smile.  
  
“Yes. And hungry. Go help Nico and Kyrie. I’ll be right here.” You tried to assure him. You tapped his back to get him to move. You could sense there was some reluctance in him, but he headed out of the door. He left it open, which you didn’t mind. You removed your shoes and placed them on the side of the bed. Then, you lifted your feet up and laid down. You closed your eyes, hoping to catch some sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, everybody!
> 
> I'm sorry this took a while. The second chapter took a lot out of me, and I had some trouble trying to piece together the details of Chapter 3.
> 
> Thankfully, I had help from my lovely, lovely precious little angel princess @katkaotic87 to help me out. Thanks, Kat. I really needed the support and you gave it. I really do appreciate it.
> 
> SO! As you can see, V is a childish little bitch who was served a serving of instant regret... and Knives is sort of dealing with it by not dealing with it (yet). What do you think would happen next? Comment it down below. I want to hear your suggestions. Who knows? I might include it.
> 
> Also! I'm on Discord!
> 
> Find me @a.jill.sandwixh #3396
> 
> I'd really LOVE to talk to all of you personally, if only to thank you all for the love and attention you give my fic. I hope this chapter wasn't too heavy. I promise everything will turn out just fine. We just have to weather this out.
> 
> I LOVE YOU ALL LIKE VERGIL LOVES POWER. <3


	4. Human

_She left. She’s gone._

_She left. She’s gone._

_She left. She’s gone._

_She left. She’s gone._

_She left. She’s gone._

_She left. She’s gone._

_Knives… is gone.  
__  
_Those were the only thoughts that was running through V’s head. Whatever anger he’s had in him now seemingly vanished into the morning wind. His knees weakened as he sat down onto his reading chair, his cane dropping onto the floor unceremoniously. He took his hand before him and rubbed his face. He knew he wasn’t the crying type, but his chest hurt so much he thought he might break.  
  
A rush of memories flooded his mind: you by his side looking at him with a smile, his hand running through your long hair, him touching your skin, him laughing at you acting silly, him looking at you when you enter into one of your meditative moods, you falling asleep on his lap while he read, you saying his name after he kissed you... All those tiny memories of you rushed through his consciousness and he wanted to grab hold onto them and memorize every single one like he memorized the words in his poetry books. He called you pathetic and useless last night. He even broke up with you to prove a point... but right now, he just doesn’t know what point he was trying to make.  
  
You were gone.

You might’ve left because _you_ were trying to prove a point, but he just never saw you as the egotistic type. If anything, you were altruistic to a fault... always putting others’ needs over your own. You must’ve left because you thought he needed the space. Even if he hurt you, you still thought of what was best for him first.  
  
“V. I’m going to ask you again.” Dante spoke, his tone stiff and deliberate. He wasn’t joking around now. Dante lifted the book in front of V’s face, “Where… is… Knives?”

“I…” He mustered some strength to mention, but his throat cut him short. He didn’t know where you were. He only found out minutes ago that you left. His mind still can’t get over the fact that you were gone. He was worried, scared, anxious, and tormented.   
  
“I think we’re having some form of misunderstanding…” Dante put his hand on V’s shoulders, but he was pressing into it too hardly and V knew he didn’t do it to comfort him. He looked into Dante’s eyes and saw anger and frustration. His face was a plastered scowl, with his eyebrows seemingly permanently knitted together in the middle. He scoffed, “I’m going to change my question, then.”

Dante cleared his throat and crouched to V’s eye level. He said every word with a weight that sunk V deeper and deeper into the ground.  
  
“What… _the fuck_… did you do, asshat?”  
  
V stopped to stare and his mind was blank. He has never seen Dante get this angry. But his tone was cold and slicing, as if he didn’t want to blow his top off just yet. All the same, V remained silent. He really don’t know what to say. V saw Lady slowly make her way down the stairs and stand right beside Dante. Trish stayed upstairs but leaned into the steel banister. Everyone was looking at him, but he was just so lost and speechless. He didn’t know where to start.

"_V._.. I swear to all the things beautiful and good, I will stab you with the Forced Edge if you don't talk." Dante goes blunt. His patience was really wearing thin, but what could V do? He simply looked at his bare feet and hung his head low.  
  
Before he knew it, a sharp punch hit him right in the head with Dante increasing the volume of his voice, “_Speak, you idiot!”_

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Lady stepped in and held Dante back from giving V’s head another punch. Trish also braced herself from up top, looking like she could descend from the stairs anytime. V wanted to blame Knives for this… all of this, but he knew she wasn’t at fault. He just wanted to see her. He didn’t care about the explanation anymore. He didn’t know why he put his ego ahead of his own logic.   
  
“Dante, what’s going on?” Lady said, standing between Dante and V. Her back was towards V, who was looking too downtrodden to function. Her hands were on Dante’s chest, sternly pushing him away. She looked at Dante with concern, and she felt helpless seeing V so feeble and wasted.  
  
Dante handed Lady the poetry book. Lady saw the pink note attached on it and said, “This is… Knives’ handwriting.”  
  
“Yeah… and V gave her that book.” Dante mentioned.  
  
Lady looked at the note closer, reading every word carefully. After her eyes read the last word, she gasped in shock, “Farewell? Is she…?”  
  
“Jackpot.” Dante mumbled, “She’s gone, Lady. Out of all of us, Knives talks to V the most. Now, she’s gone and he isn’t talking. He needs a grilling and I need answers!”  
  
Lady wrinkled her brow and crossed her arms, obviously perturbed. She decided to play the devil’s advocate and said, “Knives could just be outside, right? She’ll be back…”  
  
Dante heaved an exasperated sigh as he paced, “Knives was sick yesterday. She was vomiting all the way up the mountain. She couldn’t even stand straight! And besides, this is _Knives_. She barely even leaves the shop! The only other times she leaves is when she goes to the market or goes on a date with V. And, as you can see…” Dante points at V, “My idiot not-really-my-brother is here and Knives is gone. So.”  
  
“It can’t be… She couldn’t…” The crease between Lady’s brow deepened. She was so worried, not just for you, but for everyone in the house. Tensions were so obvious, you could cut it with a sword. Lady turned around to look at V, sulking deeper and deeper into himself. She went down on one knee and held his tattooed arm.  
  
“V, please. Tell us what happened.” Lady begged him.

V could feel his chest tighten, his breathing getting shallower. He wanted to hang onto his pride, but that action looked more and more stupid as the minutes zipped by. His eyes were watering and his vision was starting to get blurry. He didn’t want to admit it… that you were gone… that you left them… that you left _him_. But you _were_ gone.

Lady’s grip tightened on his arm to call his attention. He looked at the troubled woman in front of him, and took a deep breath. His voice shook as he retold his story.  
  
“Knives and I, we…” He ran his fingers through his hair, his face covered in shame, “…fought last night. I told her mean things… really awful things. Then…”  
  
“Go on, V.” Lady said. Dante had his arms crossed behind her, listening carefully.

“Then, I…” Shame, everywhere. V couldn’t take the shame and the guilt of his actions. With self-disgust oozing at every word, he finally admitted, “I broke up with her.”  
  
_“You what?” _Dante and Lady jumped at his admission, their faces both shocked and disturbed. Trish narrowed her eyes and shook her head in disappointment.

“I’m gonna… remove myself from this conversation.” Trish announced to them from upstairs as she went back inside her room. Dante still had his jaws to the floor and Lady had to stop herself from getting Kalina Ann.

\--- ---

“Hey, pumpkin.” Nico gently shook you awake. You found out that you slept quite a bit. The sun was already so high in the sky, and the orphanage was starting to sound pretty noisy given that the kids are already up and playing. You ran your fingers through your hair as you got up. You shrugged your jacket off while Nico gave you a pair of fluffy bunny slippers to wear so you could let your feet rest. She said your meal was ready and asked if you wanted to eat downstairs or eat right in the room. Given that the room hasn’t been cleaned yet, you got up and followed her downstairs.

Down the stairs, you saw Kyrie on the carpeted floor with a few kids. She had a smile on her face and she handled the kids so well. The children were all laughing and showing her things, and she would smile so warmly at them and encourage them to keep up the good work. You had to sigh and think about how wonderful of a mom Kyrie would be later on in life, but that just made you sad because, in comparison to you, there was almost no contest.

The dining room was quite simple and clean. There was a long table with metal chairs on the sides and a giant sliding door that overlooked the side of the house that had bushes and plants. You saw a bowl of chicken noodle soup in front of one of the chairs and it made your stomach growl violently. You were so hungry, you realized, so you immediately sat down. Nico sat down beside you, looking at you with an interested expression.

You took one sip of the soup and as the warmth traveled down to your throat and settled into your empty stomach, you had to grin softly at Nico and say, “Oh, damn. That hit the spot. Thanks, Nico.”

“No problem, little missy.” Nico rested her hands on her palm, and looked at you closer, “So… what was that all about?”  
  
“What was what?” You asked her, rolling your noodles into a fork before eating it.

“Well…” Nico straightened out and pushed her glasses up her nose bridge, “For one, you came to Fortuna unannounced. Two, you came alone. Three, you cried like a little bitch in the garage. Four, you said you haven’t eaten all day yesterday. So… I don’t know what it is, but something’s definitely up.”

You let out a long sigh as you put down your soup spoon. Nero marched into the dining room on the way to the kitchen. When he saw you and Nico sitting there, he decided to fetch a glass of water and sit across the both of you.  
  
“Hey, mom. How’re ya feeling?” He asked.  
  
You had to wince a bit with him calling you mom. It used to be a fun little term of endearment, but now with your current reality settling in, it was a very stark reminder of who you were going to be in a few months. Still, you shook your head and told him you were alright, all things considered.  
  
“I was just askin’ Knives here what’s going on.” Nico told Nero, who was sipping his water. He then looked at you, silently asking the same question. You wanted to lie and tell them you were fine, but with your excessive show of emotions a while ago, you knew they weren’t going to believe you. You just didn’t know where to start.  
  
“What happened, Knives?” Nero asked you again, insistently, “Did Dante kick you out?”  
  
“Oh no! He didn’t.” You suddenly replied, shaking your head, “It isn’t like that. Dante didn’t do anything.”  
  
“Since Trish and Lady like you a lot and would never do anything to make you leave the shop…” Nico examined it further, “That leaves…”

“V.” Nero finished her sentence.

With the mention of his name, you dropped your head. You remembered the very last words he told you. _Useless_, he called you. It made you want to cry again. You grabbed onto the hem of your shirt and shook your head. You didn’t want to think of him… you didn’t need it. Not right now.  
  
“What did my dad do, Knives?” Nero said, you could feel his tone slowly receding into a darker territory. You didn’t want to make him mad, so you lifted your head up and exhaled.  
  
“He didn’t---” You huffed, but changed your line of thought, “We fought, alright? But that’s not the reason why I’m here.”

“You and Shakespeare fought?” Nico wrinkled her eyebrows, troubled, “What happened back there?”

You were lost, but you had to tell them the story, “I was… _sick_. I didn’t want him to see me weak, so I sort of pushed him away. It went on for about a month. Then, last night we had a confrontation about me pushing him away and all, but…” Your voice trailed to a stop.  
  
_Useless. Powerless. Pathetic._  
_____  
_The words marqueed in front of you and you had to hold your temple to prevent a headache from coming on. You gripped your hem tighter and you felt Nico’s hand rest on your shoulder. That helped a bit, so you continued, “Things… didn’t end well.”

“Knives…” Nero muttered. He leaned into the table, his hands before him with fingers interlocked. He was frowning, not at you, but at the situation. Kyrie passed by and saw everyone’s worried look and decided to join in. She sat beside Nero and placed a hand on his. Nero decided to give her a crash course on what you just said. Kyrie then looked at you, her look of worry mirroring everyone else’s.   
  
“V, he…” You looked down. You could feel your chest burning in pain, “He called me useless… and powerless… and pathetic. He said he didn’t need me anymore if I was going to be like that. In a way, he…” Tears were starting to form in your eyes, “…broke up with me.”  
  
_“Sonnuvah---” _Nero hit the desk as he stood up, Kyrie just put her hand on his shoulder, stopping him from rampaging out of the room.

“So, is that why you’re here? Because ya broke up with V?” Nico asked, her hand still on your shoulder.  
  
“…No.” You muttered, almost a whisper.  
  
“Then, why are you here, Knives?” Kyrie asked, her hand was rubbing Nero’s shoulders. Nero looked too angry to be bothered with.

You hesitated, but you looked at these people and you knew they deserved to hear the truth. You went to their place, so you sort of dragged them into this. You exhaled, “I’m going to tell you… but you have to promise me that you won’t tell a soul--- _especially V._”  
  
“I promise.” Nico said, leaning closer to you.  
  
“Same. I promise, too.” Kyrie replied, giving you a nod.

“Ugh, whatever. I promise.” Nero coughed out through his teeth.

“Alright…” You said. You exhaled as you straightened out your posture. You placed your hand on your belly. You found yourself immediately looking to it for some form of comfort. You looked at all of them and said, “Yesterday, we had a mission. I was too sick and kept vomiting my way up the mountain. I lost consciousness when we got back home. When I woke up, Trish and I had a talk. When I was about to get dinner, V approached me and confronted me about why I wasn’t talking to him and why I wasn’t letting him help. By that time, I couldn’t tell him. He just wasn’t ready…”  
  
“Ready? For what?” Kyrie asked, concerned. You saw Nero look at you, his eyes troubled. Nico leaned even closer so you could feel her breath on you.  
  
“He wasn’t ready…” You held your stomach tighter, “…to be a father.”

“What?!” Nero’s eyes shot wide open, in shock.  
  
“You’re pregnant?!” Kyrie was equally shocked  
  
“Oh holy shit, Nero’s gonna be a big brother!” Nico covered her mouth.

You had to admit, Nico’s comment made you smile a bit, but it wasn’t enough to make you feel alright. Nero grabbed his hair, obviously confused and Kyrie was patting his back.  
  
“How did you find out?” Nico asked you.

“Trish, she…” You gestured, “She had her suspicions. I guess when I collapsed, she sort of knew. She gave me a pregnancy testing stick to find out. The little window showed two blue lines. I made her promise not to tell V, too.”

Kyrie shrugged and stood up, “Come on, we need to go. I’ll tell the children to stay inside the orphanage until we get back.”  
  
“Where are we going?” Nero asked her as she made her way to the doorway.  
  
“The hospital. We need to get Knives to a doctor so that we can know for sure if she’s really pregnant.” Kyrie turned around, “That way, we can know how we can help her better.”  
  
You blinked. You never thought of going to a hospital but either way, you didn’t have enough money for a hospital visit. You decided to voice it out but Kyrie simply smiled at you.

“Oh, don’t worry about it, Knives. Nero here gets things for free for saving the entire island. I’m sure his benefits trickle down to family.” She smiled at you. You hoped it was true, but Nico simply made you finish your chicken noodle soup. Kyrie dragged Nero out of his chair and told him to take a shower and change.

It took everyone about two and a half hours to get ready. After Nero’s turn in the shower, Nico told you to get your butt in there and scrub away yesterday’s bullshit. After taking a shower, you suddenly felt the need to empty your stomach again, so you knelt over the toilet vomiting the chicken noodle soup you just ate. Nico was rubbing your back, helping you get everything out of your system and you kept apologizing to her and Kyrie because you knew they worked so hard on the soup. They simply smiled at you and said they understand that you were having morning sickness. Now that you knew you were pregnant, it all actually made sense. The headaches, the nausea, the lightheadedness, the fever, and the morning sickness… these were all classic symptoms of pregnancy. You were sort of hitting your head for not seeing it sooner.

Once everyone was ready, Kyrie had to tell the other people in the house to watch the children while they were away. Nico drove the van while Nero rode shotgun. You sat on the couch while Kyrie had her arm around you, comforting you and telling you that everything would be okay. You appreciated all of the effort that they were putting for you and you were running through options in your head as to how you were going to thank them later on.

You arrived in the hospital in about half an hour. The moment the staff saw Nero leave the van, they immediately ran inside the hospital to get additional security detail and some stayed behind to ask Nero what he needed. Security guards stood defensively with Nero, trying to protect him from heaven knows what (even though we all know that these people would probably need Nero should a demon infestation arrive…). You entered the white, monolithic building and was escorted to the Ob-Gyne section of the hospital. Lab technicians drew your blood for tests and you were escorted into the hospital bathroom to provide a urine sample. Then, you had to undergo a test where you had to keep your legs open and a doctor would peek inside your area. You were highly uncomfortable, but Nico was there to hold your hand whenever you’d get scared.  
  
_Thank god for Nico… _You thought.

After a few hours, you saw the obstetrician gynecologist. She was a young lady, almost the same age as Lady. She had reddish blonde hair, blue eyes, and a dimple on the left side of her face. She smiled at you warmly when she met you. She looked around you to see Nico, Nero, and Kyrie all looking worried and tired.

“A group of supportive friends, huh?” the doctor smiled.  
  
“Yeah…” You returned her gesture. You saw the lab technician hand her a sheet of paper that contained the results of your tests. She looked at them with a serious eye, then looked at you. She heaved a relieved sigh.  
  
“All your tests came out normal. So, you have nothing to worry about.” She smiled brightly, once more. Her eyes were practically sparkling, it was unnerving.

“So, doc… Is she pregnant?” Nico just spit it out right off the bat.  
  
“Well, let’s find out.” She said, gesturing you to lay down on the ultrasound bed. You laid down with Nico standing beside you. Nero and Kyrie were at the end of the bed. The doctor exposed your belly--- it was still pretty small and flat, you were finding it pretty hard to believe you were pregnant. She squirted some jelly on your stomach and it made you shudder as it was cold.   
  
“Alright, here we go. You ready?” The doctor asked you. You looked at everyone, worried. Nico held your hand and nodded. You told the doctor you were and she immediately pressed down the wand on your lower abdomen. After a few minutes of maneuvering the wand around, the doctor stopped at a spot.  
  
There it was. Your baby.  
  
“And… there it is. Congratulations. You’re almost two months pregnant.” She said, still looking at the screen. You looked at Nico, who was looking at the ultrasound in shock. Nero was dumbfounded. Kyrie looked like she was about to cry.   
  
“Oh, wait a second…” The doctor cut the mood in half as she moved the wand slightly to the left. Once she did, the screen showed two sacs, each carrying a small embryo (which you knew now was your baby). You were shocked. You had mixed emotions.  
  
You were carrying twins. _Fraternal twins_.  
  
“Oh my good lord.” Nico muttered under her breath and you saw Kyrie bring out her handkerchief because she was already crying with joy. Nero was stroking her back, trying to calm her down.

“Double the surprise. You’re going to be the mother of twins.” The doctor beamed at you. You wanted to beam back at her, but something in you felt hollow. As much as you were thankful that Nero, Nico, and Kyrie were with you, there was only one person you wanted to be with you.  
  
V.  
  
You wanted to tell him. You wanted to hug him and tell him he was going to be a father to twins. You wanted him to be there. You _needed _him to be there. You tried to imagine what he would look like, holding your hand and looking at the ultrasound monitor but all you could think about was…  
  
_Useless._

_Powerless._   
  
_Pathetic._

You felt something snap in you. Something sad and already broken. You held onto Nico’s hands tighter and started crying your eyes out. The doctor excused herself as she left the area. Nero stood by your feet as Kyrie hugged you and stroked your hair. Nico rubbed your back to comfort you. You felt like you were hanging onto a vine as you were falling down a cliff. The world was falling apart as your grip slowly slipped, inch by inch. The sky was dark, the air was scarce, and fire was burning everywhere. You felt like things were never going to be alright again, but you knew you had to try and hang on… for the sake of your child.  
  
Or rather, your _children._  
  
_It’s going to be alright… Everything will be alright…_ You thought to yourself, mentally telling your children that same message_. Mommy’s going to be fine for the both of you. I’ll make sure no one hurts you. Mommy’s going to take good care of you. Mommy will always be here for you. I promise. _

_ _\--- ---_ _

_ _

Night was slowly falling down the shop at Red Grave City and the air inside Devil May Cry was thick. Trish left the shop to get pizza for the crew while Dante and Lady stayed behind with V. Lady simply locked herself in her room, ruminating in anger. Dante remained behind his desk, waiting for the phone to ring, but constantly thinking about where you were and what you were going through. As the owner of the shop, he couldn’t afford to lose one member. As your friend, he was simply worried about you and your health. He was also extra pissed off with V, and how he selfishly tried to put his needs over yours--- like another egotistic bastard he knew back in the day.

V was inside your room. He was seated on the side of your bed, the picture of the both of you in his hands. He remembered that Dante took this candid picture. You were standing near the kitchen stove, your hair in a messy bun. You were wearing a white band shirt and shorts. You were probably mixing a sauce for the roast beef you made that day. V was standing beside you, his hands on your waist. You were smiling at the sauce pan, while V was smiling at you. He remembered you saying you kept that photo because you always wanted to be reminded that you made him smile, somehow.

That seemed like another eternity ago… in another life. Things suddenly changed and all of a sudden, your smile left.. and was replaced with tears.

You were crying last night, which meant you were extremely sad. You were the type of person who was a firecracker of emotions, but you rarely cried. He mentally reprimanded himself for not prioritizing how you felt. He saw your red eyes. He saw that you were sick. He saw that you were trying your best to look alright… and yet, all he could think about was demanding a stupid explanation. Now, you were gone. You left Devil May Cry without a word. The only things you left behind was his book, this room that still smelled of jasmine, and the memories of you and him together.

Griffon and Shadow exited his body, and as they did, Shadow leaned his head onto V’s lap seemingly trying to comfort him. Griffon on the other hand was pretty pissed off.  
  
“Jee whiz, V. I don’t think you scared Knives enough.” He barked at him sarcastically while standing on top of the mattress.

“Please… Not now.” V had to beg. He wasn’t in the mood for any of Griffon’s witty yet snarky remarks.

“Now, why would I even follow you when you didn’t even stop when Knives told you the ‘not now’ message, huh?” Griffon shook his beak at V.  
  
V turned a sharp eye at his familiar and repeated his words firmly,_ “Not now.”_

“Well, alright Shakespeare. Just let me know if you get any ideas about how to get Knives back.” He said, flying to the top of the cabinet.

“I don’t…” V replied, trying to explain how he doesn’t know what to do.

“...know how to get her back, huh?” A voice blew up by the door and V saw Dante, his hands crossed and leaning on the door beams. He looked angry this morning, but right now, he seemed calmer and more stable. He walked into the room slowly, his hands still across his chest, “Knives always did like this room. She stayed in it so often, it’s starting to permanently smell like jasmines.”

V’s lips twitched to a soft smile, remembering how your hair smelled like when he nuzzled you. Dante saw that he was holding the photo he took of the both of you in the kitchen. Dante slowly took the photo from V’s hands and muttered, “You know, I’ve always liked this picture.”

“She obviously liked it a lot, too.” V said, tapping the handle of his cane on his hands. Griffon and Shadow remained at a distance, with Griffon preening his feathers and Shadow moving to Nico’s bed to make room for Dante.

“But do you know _why_ I like it?” Dante pressed the frame back into the bedside table then taking a seat beside V. V shook his head. Dante huffed, “It’s because you look _human_.”

“Me?” V was slightly surprised. He looked at Dante who was looking pretty somber.

“My brother, Vergil… He never smiled. I think the only time I’ve ever seen him smile is when he was beating the living shit out of me. It’s like the demon in him relishes in the image of people suffering.” Dante pointed at the photo, “But _you_ were smiling, and I know one of the only reasons you smile is because you__ know __Knives loves you. And that love… made you pretty human. You smiled whenever she’d look at you or whenever she’d say something to you. You would smile whenever she’s in the kitchen, cooking something. You would even smile when she smiles. I know you’re not the smiling type of person… but I know Knives can bring out that happiness in you.”

_But she’s gone…_ V wanted to mutter, but his voice got caught in his throat. He simply frowned and gripped his cane tighter.

“What happened last night, V?” Dante asked him, his voice now gentle and curious. He wasn’t mad anymore, but V could tell that he was mildly disappointed.

“I was just so… _angry_. She hasn’t been talking to me for more than a month, and she doesn’t even let me help her. She doesn’t trust me…” V muttered, looking down at his knees.

“Did she _say _she doesn’t trust you?” Dante had a specific emphasis on the word ‘say’. To that, V looked at him, bewildered.  
  
“Well, no… I didn’t really give her a chance to answer.” He said, looking at nothing in particular. His eyes were blank.

“There you go. She may trust you… she may not… but until you ask her and let her answer, it could be both or none of them at the same time.” Dante surmised.  
  
“Like Schroedinger’s cat?” V raised an eyebrow.  
  
“Yeah… exactly like Schroedinger’s bat, whoever he is.” Dante replied, obviously clueless about what V said. He cleared his throat, “But I get it… You were mad. You were angry. But you were only mad and angry because you felt powerless and helpless. You saw the woman you love suffering and you couldn’t even do anything. You may have changed your form, but I know you’re still the same kind of person…” He looked at V, “_Vergil._”__

Dante calling V by his brother’s name made him jump quite a bit. It took him by surprise. However, he knew that Dante spoke the truth. He may have a new form now, but he could still feel aspects of Vergil deep down inside him. That lingering desire for power, subtly underlined by the desire to protect those he loves the most. Vergil was unable to do so and that’s why he ran amok. He believed his humanity was a hindrance that prevented him from amassing as much power as he could. He believed he wasn’t loved and was abandoned, so his demon side won through and through. He passed down this desire for power onto his son, Nero… but although Nero has issues of his own, he grew up loved by his family in Fortuna. Once Vergil died and was reintegrated into V, the desire for power was still there, quite strongly. And he thought that was why he snapped.  
  
“Let me guess: You called Knives useless out of spite.” Dante chuckled.

“How did you…?” V started to ask. Dante gave out this all-knowing look at it made V feel uncomfortable.

“Because _Vergil _would’ve called anyone useless out of spite.” Dante raised his hands, “He’d even call them powerless, pathetic, and helpless just to rub salt in the wound.” V hid behind his hair, feeling more ashamed than necessary. Dante looked at him and laughed, “So… you _did _call her those things, huh?”  
  
“Verbatim.” V admitted.

“Well, my brother in another body…” Dante put his strong arm around V’s broad, lanky shoulders, “There are only two things you could do to ease this situation.”  
  
“One: Find Knives.” Dante raised his index finger, counting down, “Two: Apologize.”

“Apologize…” V muttered the word again, slowly making it sink into his subconscious.

“I honestly don’t think Knives left as a fuck you to you. She would never do something like that, no matter how much you hurt her.” Dante mentioned, suddenly sounding unnervingly calm, “Out of all of us here in the shop, she’s actually the most selfless person around.”  
  
“Heck yeah, she is, boss!” Griffon sang on top of the cabinet. Dante pointed a finger gun at him, to which Griffon simply laughed. Shadow sat on Nico’s bed, with his head twitching upright, looking at Dante and V.

“Remember when she took that lightning strike for you?” Dante muttered, “She pushed you out of the way because you are family. She didn’t want you getting hurt. She was protecting you.” Dante tapped his shoulder, “I think, even now, she’s still trying to protect you, V.”

“From what, though? I don’t understand. She just wouldn’t tell me.” V said, his voice in pain.

“Maybe that’s why she won’t tell you. If she does, she’s scared you’ll get hurt and she couldn’t live with that.” Dante exhaled. The front door open and shut, and tiny footsteps echoed into the empty first floor. Dante knew that Trish was back, hopefully with pizza. Dante stood up and went for the door, “Think about it, V. Now, it’s pizza time.”  
  
Dante left your room, leaving V with his familiars. He had to admit he felt a lot better and a lot worse at the same time. The room still smelled like you… as if you were still there. He looked outside the window into the sky. He remembered how you loved staring at the night sky and looking at the stars. He wondered if you were looking at the sky somewhere. He wondered if you were alright, if you were thinking of him and what he said, and if you were somewhere safe where no one can harm you.

_“…and I know one of the only reasons you smile is because you know Knives loves you. And that love… made you pretty human.”_

Dante’s words hung on V’s mind as he laid down on your bed, looking at the sky. The empty space beside him felt horrible. He knew you should be there, in his arms. He missed your warmth. He missed your smiles. Hell, he even missed your terrible humor. He missed _you_. There was a hole in his chest in the shape of you and until you come back, it will never be filled. You weren’t powerless or useless, he thought. He was. He was just that big of a dick to even accuse you of something he was feeling in himself.  
  
And yet, isn’t that always the case?

Shadow slowly slunk by V’s side and laid his head on his chest. He ran his fingers through his black, smokey fur and Shadow purred quite contently. Griffon remained on top of the cabinet, but this time he was talking to V calmly.  
  
“So, what are you planning to do now, V?” He asked, cocking his head to the side.

“I guess I need to find her… and apologize, like Dante said.” V sighed, “I’m such a dick…”  
  
“Yeah. You are. But knowing that the problem exists is half the problem solved, Shakespeare.” Griffon chortled as he reintegrated himself into V’s body. He gave Shadow a pat on the head before letting him back in, too.

He exhaled as he got up and left the room, bringing the photo that he touched a while ago with him. He climbed down the stairs just in time to hear the phone ringing on Dante’s desk.  
  
“Devil May Cry.” Dante picked up the phone, with a slice of pizza on his hand. He put his feet up the desk and smiled, “Oh, hey Nero. How’s the shop doing?”

\--- ---

The drive from the hospital was hard but bearable. Kyrie and Nico were able to dry your tears and understand the pain and pressure you were getting yourself into. You got a bit of encouragement from Nero as well as you saw him put an arm around you and promise you that he’d punch V in the face for calling you useless. It made you smile quite a bit. On the drive home, you were unusually craving for boba tea, so Nico drove to one of the places she knew served it and got all of you a cup.

It was already nighttime when you arrived back in the orphanage. Kyrie immediately hopped off to see if the orphans were alright. Nico led you to your shared room and sat on the bed with Nero. You squirmed in between them like you always do. You three were sipping on your boba quietly as Nero suddenly gasped.  
  
“Well, shit!” Nero popped the straw out of his mouth with a sudden look of disgust, “Knives can’t stay here. It’s full of cigarette butts!”

“Where does she stay, then? I can’t have her stayin’ in a room alone!” Nico said. You looked at her weirdly. She apologized, “I’m sorry, honey. I really can’t have you stayin’ anywhere alone.”

Nero stood up to get a trash bag from downstairs. He came back and instantly started throwing away all the cigarette butts. He was muttering and complaining about how the secondhand smoke could affect the children you were carrying and how this room smells like an ass. It made you laugh out loud, the loudest you’ve ever laughed in days. It made Nero stop stomping around the room and Nico look at you, expectant.  
  
“Sorry, it’s just…” You started to apologize, still giggling slightly, “Thank you, you guys.”

“Awww.” Nico hugged you from the side, “Anythin’ for you, darlin’.”

“You guys have been so kind to me, I don’t know how to thank you.” You said, your tone soft and thankful.

“Well, you can thank us by makin’ sure you’re doin’ okay and those little babies in you get big and strong.” Nico mentioned, tapping on your belly.

“Yeah, and besides…” Nero said, returning back to your side, “That’s what family does.”

Nico decided to help out Nero in cleaning out her room. You decided to open a window to let the “ass-smelling air” (according to Nero) out. Kyrie joined in after sending the children to their rooms and she swatted Nero away for some girl time. Nero, ever the hardheaded boy he is, decided to sit on the floor and stay in the room. You decided it was alright to let him stay.  
  
Now, Kyrie was behind you, running a comb through your long hair and Nico was doing your nails. Both of which were getting pretty long. Nero was reading a magazine in the corner of the room, not paying attention.  
  
Kyrie commented, “Knives, your hair is so long. Don’t you ever want to cut it?”

  
“Uh… V sort of liked it long.” You muttered, “He says he likes holding onto it when we, uh…”  
  
You were silent as you dropped the last phrase, blushing crimson. You looked at Nero, suddenly feeling uncomfortable that he was there. Kyrie and Nico started giggling.  
  
“Hey, idiot. Your sort-of-dad has a hair kink!” Nico screamed at Nero, to your alarm. To which he simply raised his magazine closer to his face, blocking Nico’s laughing face from view.

“But your hair is so beautiful.” Kyrie started braiding it. She was already down to the back of your neck when you smiled and replied.  
  
“You know, V liked braiding my hair, too.” You smiled, slightly. You missed him terribly, but now just wasn’t the time, “He was pretty good at it, too.”  
  
“Yeah, those fingers of his work through your hair like they work through them pages, huh?” Nico laughed as she was painting your nails pink. Nico started wiggling her eyebrows, “I bet you like his fingers when he…” Nico winked, with a sly smile on her face.  
  
“_Nico_.” You told her, a blush was starting to form on your face.

“Oh, don’t worry. Nero does the same thing.” Kyrie said behind you, shyly, “And I don’t mean braiding.”

“_Kyrie_.” Nero peeked out of his magazine, his eyebrows knotted tightly together. This made all three of you laugh. You needed this, you thought. Just some quality time with friends. Perfect.

“I know this isn’t the right time for this question, but…” Nico broke the momentary silence, “How’d ya get knocked up anyway?"

  
You looked at her, confused, “Huh? What do you mean?”

“Like how did you even get pregnant, Knives.” Kyrie said, slowly braiding your hair down your back, “Don’t you use protection?”  
  
“Prote--- what?” You were puzzled. _What protection?_

“Oh my god.” Nico dropped your hand as she heard your reply. Kyrie was just looking at you, unsure whether she heard you correctly. Nero even put his magazine down to look at you, concerned. Nico stuttered, “D-don’t you m-mean… you don’t know anything about protection? You didn’t use a condom or somethin’?”

“A what?” You squinted your eyes at Nico. She still had her eyes wide, her glasses falling off of her nose.

“Well, that answers your question, Nico.” Kyrie said, tying your hair with a rubber scrunchy. She had a smile and was looking at you like you were an innocent child. You had to admit, you felt like you were. You had to ask Nico what a condom was and when she described it, you were dumbfounded. It was a piece of latex you use so that you wouldn’t get pregnant, she said. You had your eyes wide open, but you just wish you kept your legs closed.

“God damn. So you kept doing it… _raw?”_ Nico leaned in towards you, wincing, “Like he’d let it all out in ya, all willy-nilly?”

“_Nico._ That’s gross.” Nero finally commented like Nico said something disgusting.

“...Yeah, I guess?” You winced, hoping no one hits your head.

“So, you didn’t get pregnant before simply because you were lucky?” Kyrie asked you, now massaging your shoulders. She didn’t seem to mind your cluelessness. You actually found that sentiment quite uncomfortable. You nodded, because she was right and your face was burning up like a red balloon.

“If you’re two months pregnant, then that must mean you…” Nico started counting her fingers. Then, she gasped and pointed at you with a wild grin on her face, _“You fucked on your anniversary!”_

“Alright, that’s it! Enough with you, Nico!” Nero stood up, looking extremely disgusted. You knew he found it hard imagining his sort-of-dad having sex with his friend. It was obvious on his face. It made you laugh, though. But you sort of felt bad for him. Kyrie had to hop off the bed to calm him down. They both sat down on the floor while Nico finished doing your nails. You felt a bit ashamed and a bit bad. You didn't know you could protect yourself because no one in the shop ever told you. Your mother never talked about sex and safe practices for it before passing away. And V, well... He'd like to tell you that he was just two days old. So...

“Well, anyway…” You hummed, “I guess I can’t stay here long. I’d have to look for somewhere I can stay in.”

“Do you have any idea as to where you could go?” Kyrie asked.

“I’m thinking…” You smiled idly, “…of going back home to Ferrum Hills. My mom’s house is still there, and I won’t have neighbors yet. Plus, you guys can come see me whenever you want.”

“Whoa… but that place still has demons in it, Knives.” Nero said.

“That’s why I said you can come see me whenever you want. It’s good exercise, demon slaying.” You told him as a matter of fact, “And besides… I’m _pregnant_, __not incapable. I’d need to practice using my knives as well.” You saw Nico give you a wincing smile, to which you just nodded and told her you’ll be fine.

“I don’t think you brought enough stuff with ya to go back home though.” Nico said, pouting at your duffel bag near the door.

“Yeah… But I guess I’ll have to make do with what I got.” You muttered sadly.

“...Or we could just go to Red Grave tomorrow and pick up your stuff.” Nero offered. You looked at him suddenly. He already had his butt off the floor and was heading towards the door.

“No, no! You don’t need to! That’s too much!” You started waving your finished had in front of your face.

“Knives.” Nero turned to you, his face was a bit anxious, “We’re family. You need your stuff, but you can’t go back because you want to leave them behind. That’s why we’re gonna get your stuff for you whether you like it or not.” He loosened up, “Don’t worry. I won’t tell V where you are.”  
  
You gave a relieved sigh, but then Nero followed it up with, “…I _am_ still going to punch him in the face, though.”

You wanted to hug Nero and thank him, but you simply nodded and took his word for it. He then ran downstairs to call up Red Grave City. You three women could hear him talking.  
  
“Hey, Dante. It’s me, Nero.” He mentioned, “The shop’s fine. Say… Can Nico and I stop by tomorrow? We need to pick up some stuff.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, hello, hello everyone!  
It's me again.
> 
> How did you like this chapter? It took a while because I wanted it to be longer than the last chapter, and I added a few details in to make the story pop. Also, today wasn't quite alright, but everything turned out well... and HEY. We have a chapter update.
> 
> And here we find out that Knives is pregnant with TWINS!!! Yey, I guess? Let's see how the next chapter turns out.
> 
> Special thank you again to @Katkaotic87 because she got me out of my slump both in writing and in life. She also suggested the boba craving. It's so unhealthy, you guys... but boba is life. <3 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you guys continue on reading! Please leave comments or kudos this fic if you like it! I LOVE YOU ALL LIKE VERGIL LOVES POWER!


	5. Family

The sun was still asleep and the sky has yet to brighten up into its powder azure, but you found yourself awake. The clock read one in the morning and Nico was asleep beside you. You knew Nico snored when she fell into a deep sleep. She wasn’t snoring now, so you could tell that if you shook her she’d wake up. That’s why you carefully peeled off the blanket from your body and tiptoed out of the room. You looked back to check if Nico was still asleep. She scratched her head and moved a bit, but she was still pretty much in dreamland. You sighed and went straight to the kitchen. You decided to make them some packed lunches for their trip back to Red Grave City. It was the least you could do after all the effort they’ve put into helping you out.  
  
You looked into the fridge to check what they got. To your surprise, the fridge was actually pretty full. You thought about it for a second and realized that this shop also doubled as an orphanage. It only made sense to stock a lot of food because they had a lot of children to feed. After a while, you decided to get some eggs to scramble. You got some hotdogs from the freezer and decided to thaw them a bit so you could fry them for Nero. You also got a few chicken wings you could bake for Nico. You knew she liked them spicy, so you got the paprika and the spices from the spice cabinet. You also got some potatoes and butter so that you could make mashed potatoes. You stared at the clock to see it just about to strike to two in the morning. That gave you around three hours to prepare, so you got an apron to wrap around your waist and started cooking.

This kitchen was so much bigger than your old kitchen in Red Grave. In as much as you were thankful for all the space it has, you sort of missed how cozy and small the old kitchen was. This kitchen was rectangular in shape, and quite spacious. It reminded you of your house’s kitchen back in Ferrum Hills.

As you were peeling the potatoes, your mind suddenly reminded you of your mother. She was only sixteen when she had you and she was disowned by her family. She had to go somewhere else to raise you as her own. Even if she eventually did raise you quite well, there were a lot of things you didn’t know because she didn’t tell you. For one, she never told you about having sex. You sort of surmised that she must’ve had sex once before (hence,_you_) but she never brought up the subject on how you were made, how to have safe sex, and what were the possible consequences. You sighed as you momentarily stopped peeling potatoes with a knife.

_Oh, mom…_ You shook your head, _What a shame…_

She also never told you who your father was. It was sort of a taboo subject in the household. You remembered as a child, you’d ask your mother about him… but she’d just smile at you and change the subject. Sometimes, she’d excuse herself and rush to her room. There, she’d stay for about half the day. She’d come out of her room with her eyes all puffy and her voice all nasal. You knew she was crying. You didn’t like it when your mom cried, so it got to a point where you stopped asking.  
  
You placed your hand on your stomach. According to the doctor, your babies were as big as raspberries now. To be honest, they weren’t quite big yet. Your stomach wasn’t even showing yet. But you felt their weight, metaphysically speaking. Someday, they were going to grow into beautiful children. They’d see their friends and their fathers and ask you about their dad… about V. What would you do? What would you say? Will you tell them the truth? Will you hide and cry, like your mother did? You caressed your stomach gently and sighed. A part of you knew that your own mother asked herself that same question when she was carrying you. It seemed rather cruel and rather silly that you’d find yourself in the same position.

You continued to cook as you thought about your mother. All things considered, she was a great mother to you. You got everything you needed from her. She home schooled you, since no other schools in the area would take in a bastard back in the day. She took you to places to see Fortuna and endured the judging gaze of the people around her. She worked day and night just to provide for the both of you. It was actually a miracle she still had time to spend with you. At sixteen, you knew she wasn’t ready to become a mother… but she made do with whatever she had and ran with it.  
  
_Would you be able to do the same?_  
  
You were slicing the hotdogs in half when…  
  
“Hey, mom.” A voice broke out from the kitchen door.

You let out a screech as you threw the knife towards that general direction. It lodged itself a few centimeters from Nero’s ear. He didn’t move or flinch from his spot, and was simply looking at you with his hands inside his sweatpants’ pockets. He was wearing a hoodie that said “Not A Deadweight”, a Christmas gift from Dante last year, you remembered.

“Holy shit biscuits, Nero.” You held your chest as you recovered from the shock, “You surprised me. God…”

“Yeah, well…” He scratched the back of his head as he moved towards the kitchen counter and grabbed a seat, “Whatcha thinking about?”

“I’m making packed lunch for you and Nico later. I’m making hotdogs. I know you love them.” You smiled, placing the hotdogs in the frying pan one by one.  
  
“I’m not asking what you’re doing, Knives.” Nero said, slowly. He was tracing his finger on the counter top, apparently introspecting, “I’m asking what you’re thinking about.”  
  
“Oh.” You stopped. The hotdogs sizzled in the pan as you laid all of them down in a certain pattern. The both of you were quiet for a while, but as the hotdogs became done and you set them all aside, you started talking, “I’m thinking of a lot of things, actually. I’m thinking about why I’ve never heard about condoms before…”  
  
Nero snorted through his nose. A laughter brought about by your innocent comment.

“...I’m also thinking about my own dad, and the fact that my mom never told me who he was. I was wondering if I’d have to keep V’s identity a secret from my own children, too.” You sighed, your voice was sad. Your chest hurt whenever you thought of V. It remained that you wanted to see him still… but you didn’t know if it was going to be the best thing for you and the children you were carrying.  
  
He did call you useless, after all.

Nero simply looked at you, his eyes taking all of the information in. You continued as you brought out two containers for the food. As you were arranging, you said, “Before you came in, I was thinking about how I’m in the exact same situation my own mother was in: I had to be separated from the family I know, I needed to run away to a place far away carrying my children in my belly… And I wonder if I’ll be able to become the mom my children need me to be…”  
  
“So… are you saying you don’t want to be a mother?” Nero asked, his brows knitted in confusion.  
  
“I’m saying I’m not _prepared _to be a mother.” You said, putting down your spoon on the counter in front of Nero and exhaling really deeply.

“Alright… Then, let me ask you this.” Nero shrugged, relaxing his forehead and looking at you, “Do you love your children?”  
  
You held your stomach and for some reason, it felt unusually warm. It felt like they were trying to give you assurance from the inside. It was a very good and comforting feeling. You weakly smiled and softly said, “Yes… I’d give my life for them, if I could.”

“Then, you’d be a great mother whether or not you’re prepared to be one.” Nero smiled at you, “Kind of like how you and your mother turned out. She gave her life for you… and here you are.” He gestured to your form in front of him.

You huffed as you went to his side. You grabbed a chair and sat beside him. You looked at him and said, “Yeah… but I don’t know if I’m going to be a _good_ mother. I want to be, I just don’t know how.”

Nero looked at the half-done lunch box containers on the kitchen counter in front of him and pointed at it, “Something tells me you do.”

You were confused with what he was saying. He smirked at your confusion and faced you head on, “You see… I’ve never had anyone make me a lunch box before meeting you. No one bothered or took the time when I was a kid. Kyrie’s parents were busy running this business and I was technically not their child, so… You know how that went. I don’t know who my real mother is and my dad is… Well… You know the deal.” You nodded, smiling at him, “But after meeting you, you started cooking for me and the entire crew. You always looked out for me, made sure I was safe, and I was feeling alright. When you started talking, you’d talk to me about my past and ask me how I took it. You’d also share with me stuff about your own past and tell me what lessons you got from it. To be honest, aside from Nico, you’re _kinda, sorta_ my best friend.”

You blushed. It was a compliment to be told something like that, especially from someone like Nero. Still, your heart felt warm and you smiled at him.

He continued, “You started dating V, who is sort of my dad, which makes _you_ my sort-of-stepmom. And I know you’re younger than me and some other shit other people might have some comments about, but…” He held your shoulder and looked you close in the eye, “You have to believe me when I tell you this…”  
  
“What?” You asked him.  
  
“You’re the best mom I could ever ask for.” He smiled at you, his words were sincere through and through. It almost made you cry.

“Thank you, Nero.” You wiped a tear that fell from you eye.

“Stop doubting yourself.” Nero lifted a corner of his lip to form his signature smile as he tapped your shoulder. He went to the fridge to drink some water, and with a salute, he left you to finish your cooking.

The orphanage slowly became noisier as the clock ticked on. You saw the morning sun take its first peek over the horizon as it colored the sky a nice blue and white. You decided to make pancakes for everyone as well, since you had time. You packed the lunch boxes into a paper bag and you decided to put in some coffee in a stainless steel drinking container so that they can take it on the way (You decided to pack some sugar and cream for Nico, of course). You could hear the footsteps of the people inside the orphanage get louder and louder. You could hear Nico sleepily screaming at the kids to get out of her way because she was going to take a shower. Kyrie dropped by the kitchen to see you there, greeted you, and decided to help you out with anything you might need.

At around six in the morning, the orphanage was already fully awake. The children were already eating their pancakes, with the house’s guardians watching over them. Nero stood in the garage, carrying several boxes into the van. Nico was carrying several boxes from the house into the garage.

“Can’t have too many.” Nico laughed as she placed the last of the boxes in the back of the van.

“Alright, then.” Nero looked at Nico, then looked at Knives, “Now… Are you sure none of you want to come with us?” You nodded, “Alright, then. Is there anything from Red Grave that you want? Any cravings?”  
  
“Could you…” You started mumbling, “…get me some of those bagels Dante used to get all of us for breakfast? I kinda want those…”  
  
“You got it, missy.” Nico kneeled in front of you and started rubbing her hands all over your stomach, “Your babies get the food they want. Auntie Nico’s gonna make sure them tykes grow up big and strong.”

“Auntie, huh?” Kyrie was laughing at the sight of Nico fawning over your belly.

“Speaking of food!” You gasped. You handed Nico the paper bag full of food and coffee, “It’s your breakfast and lunch for today. There’s scrambled egg, fried rice, barbecued chicken wings for Nico, hotdogs for Nero, mashed potatoes for the both of you. I even put in some stir fried vegetables in there. And oh! I put some pancakes in, too. Just in case you wanted some.”

“That’s…” Nero laughed at how fast you talked, “…a lot of cooking you did.”  
  
Nico was looking into the paper bag to see the food you carefully prepared. She was so happy, she started singing and dancing.  
  
“Me likey! Me likey likey likey!” Nico danced her way around you and Kyrie, who were standing near the stairs towards the house. Nico stopped and laughed, “Just tryin’ to get ya to laugh, pumpkin.”

“You need to get going.” Kyrie reminded them, “The boat to Red Grave City is going to leave in a few hours.”

“Okay.” Nero said. He approached Kyrie and gave her a kiss on the lips and a hug. He told her he and Nico will be back. He then approached you and hugged you very tightly.

“Hey, Nero.” You reminded him, “Remember your promise, alright?”

“Yeah, V won’t know you’re pregnant and I won’t tell him where you are. My lips are sealed.” Nero said, giving you a confident pat on the shoulder.

“You, too.” You pointed at Nico. To which she just nodded and waved. Nero opened the door and rode the van. After a few minutes, the van left the garage, leaving you and Kyrie watching as the van faded from view slowly into the morning horizon.

\--- ---

With the van gone, it took you and Kyrie several hours to get to Ferrum Hills. You tried to insist that you were going to go there alone, but Kyrie just wasn’t taking no for an answer. For a girl so gentle and meek, she can really put you in your place if you needed it. No wonder Nero likes her. With that, you holstered your weapons on you and walked out with your bags over your shoulder. After a while, Kyrie offered to carry your bag for you, seeing you get sick along the way. You still had morning sickness, and you sort of hated it… but you just had to suck it up and bear it, you thought. In addition to that, you were cramping in your stomach and your breasts felt extremely tender.  
  
“I love you, children. I really do.” You talked to your children, caressing your stomach as you walked “But please don’t make mommy suffer any more than necessary, please?”  
  
Kyrie smiled, “You’re already talking to them, huh?”

“Yeah… I figured we were going to go through life together, so why not start now?” You laughed while huffing. You were exhausted, and you knew it was because you had zero hours of sleep.

You finally got to the front of your house. You exhaled, thanking the gods you made it there in one piece. You felt really happy that there was no heavy feeling in your chest whenever you’d come back to this place. You would return from time to time to this place in the past year, trying to fix it up. You got the water and electricity running again, with Nero’s help. You were also able to repaint the walls in the past. Now, you just had to convert a room in the upper floor into a nursery… and the thought of it made you scowl. Kyrie simply tapped your back and ushered you into the house.

You and Kyrie ate the packed lunch your cooked this morning before you got going. You talked about how things were in Fortuna, about the demon infestation, and about how the orphanage is doing.

“Well, the Order’s completely defunct now.” Kyrie said, a little bit sadly, “But on the bright side, a lot of people sort of treat Nero like their new Sparda. I mean, he __is__ a Sparda… but he isn’t a god.”  
  
“Neither was his grandfather.” You answered, chewing on a sausage, “Sparda was a demon. A good demon, yeah. But _a demon_.”

  
“Nero’s good, though. He used to be this really arrogant and cocky kid, but I think he was just acting out and trying to be strong because he knew he didn’t have parents he could count on.” Kyrie said, giving out a reflective huff, “Nowadays, he’s mellowed down. I think it’s all thanks to you and V… mostly.”

“He did tell me this morning that I was the best mom he could ever ask for.” You smiled, remembering how Nero made you feel alright this morning.

“He wouldn’t tell you but… He’s actually really angry at V right now.” Kyrie said, putting down her utensils by her food container, “And he’s kind of slightly less angry at you.”

  
“Huh? What do you mean?” You felt a whiplash hit you as the words left Kyrie’s lips.

“He told me last night that he really wants to give V a shiner. He’s really angry that he called you all those hurtful words… Even broke up with you. Now that he knows you’re pregnant, he’s even angrier.” Kyrie said, “He’s mad at you for being too weak to speak up for yourself, though.”  
  
You froze. Nero was really _mad _at you?

Kyrie continued, “I get where you’re coming from, Knives. You thought that V’s too young to be a father. You left because you didn’t want him exposed to the pressure. Besides, he broke up with you so you probably thought he would be better off without you. You’re too selfless, and we love you because of it. However, I also understand how Nero is feeling.” Kyrie held your hand, gently brushing her fingers onto the back of your hand, “He’s seen you stab Dante countless times. He’s seen you crush demons to a pulp. He’s seen you do all of those strong, amazing things… and yet, in the face of V… you just shut up.”

You frowned and hunched over. You guessed what Kyrie was saying (and what Nero was feeling) was that you never tell V what you really feel. Now that you thought about it, you didn’t _need_ to tell him you were pregnant… but you could’ve told him you were sick and that you were scared that he’d see you weak. You didn’t want him looking down on you and you feared that he wouldn’t want you anymore because you were weak.  
  
That was what you feared, that’s why you did what you did. Yet, your fears came true anyway. You knew you should’ve said something. But you were just so scared.

“I didn’t want him to see that I was weak.” You tried to explain, “And yet, that’s exactly how he saw me. I was…” You choked on your words, “…scared.”

“Don’t you think he was, too?” Kyrie said, her hand was still on yours, “He was seeing you having a hard time, and yet you were isolating him. He probably wanted to be there for you… but you wouldn’t let him.”

“Yeah, but…” You tried to make an excuse but all of your words fell silent because you knew she was right.  
  
“I mean, sure he called you all of those really awful things, but we all know that V is a child sometimes. He doesn’t know how to express his emotions properly, if at all.” Kyrie said, “He must’ve looked angry to you, but deep down inside, he was probably just as scared as you were.”

You sighed. Kyrie was right, you thought. You asked, “So… now what? What do I do?”  
  
“Well, that’s up to you. I’m sure you know what to do, deep down. But I can tell you what I think you should do…” Kyrie gave you a small smile, “I know this because this is what I do to Nero whenever he throws his childish tantrums at me.”

“What do you do?” You asked, your back straightening up.  
  
“I ask him again what he just called me, and I tell him to say it to me while looking me in the eye.” Kyrie laughed, “You have no idea how many times that boy calls me a bitch and not mean it.”

“Well… he is his father’s son.” You laughed. Kyrie gripped your hand, supporting you as the midday sun burned outside.

\--- ---

Trish was in the kitchen, trying to look for peanut butter when Lady came in, trying to look for food.

“God, I miss Knives.” Lady muttered as she opened the cabinets one by one.

“The knives are in that drawer over there.” Trish idly pointed at the drawer beside Lady without looking her direction.  
  
“I don’t mean the utensils, Trish. I mean _Knives_. The girl.” Lady’s tone of voice was really sad and agitated, “I can’t believe V would just break up with her like that. She was sick, too. I wonder if she’s doing alright.”

“Oh, that girl is nice to a fault. Sometimes, I wonder if her niceness gets her anywhere.” Trish said, finally finding the jar of peanut butter. Lady idly sat on the kitchen table, looking at her feet.

“I just wish she told _us _she was leaving. I wish I knew where she was.” Lady sighed.

“Well…” Trish said, getting a small spoon and digging into the peanut butter jar, “She never said where she was going, but I have an idea as to why she’d actually leave.”

“Huh? Don’t you mean breaking up with V isn’t a good enough reason?” Lady cocked her head to the side, confused.

“Think about it.” Trish said, licking her lips, “If they fought and broke up, they would’ve just avoided each other for a time. But Dante would’ve knocked some sense into V and Knives would’ve probably gotten better and eventually the two would make up. I admire V, but sometimes he could be such an emo brat.” Trish climbed up the table and sat beside Lady, “So, I honestly don’t think that was the only reason. It played a part… but it wasn’t the reason.”

“So you mean… there’s another reason? An even bigger one?” Lady said, her forehead knotted in a frown. She was getting more and more confused.

“Huge.” Trish leaned in to whisper, “But Knives told me to keep it a secret. At least from V.”

“So does that mean you could tell me…?” Lady asked.  
  
“Mmmmmaybe…?” Trish smirked a bit.

“How about me?” A voice spoke near the kitchen door. Dante was standing there, arms crossed and eyes questioning why Trish and Lady were whispering to each other.

Trish rolled her eyes, “Well, since you’re here already… sure. But!” She raised a finger, “You have to promise that V won’t know about it. Knives made me promise.”

“You know I can keep a secret, Trish. Jeez.” Dante walked towards where the ladies were. They all stayed, huddled in an enclosed circle. Trish inhaled and exhaled deeply. Then, she started.

“So… Knives was sick, right? She has been for almost a month now. When she collapsed the other day, I went to her room and gave her this.” She dug her pockets for the pregnancy stick, “It came out positive.”

“Oh my…” Lady started. Her eyes wide in shock.  
  
“…bananas.” Dante finished, holding the pregnancy test stick in his fingers. His eyes looking intently at the two blue lines in the window, “Knives… is pregnant?”  
  
“With V’s baby, yeah.” Trish continued to whisper, “She told me that V was too young to be a father. So, I guess when V broke up with her, she left… because she decided it was going to be the best for the baby.”

“Oh god… _Knives._” Dante hit his face in exasperation, “Why do you have to be _too fucking nice_?”

“It makes sense, though. If they just broke up and Knives wasn’t pregnant, they would’ve eventually made up. But Knives being pregnant and V telling her they were done…” Lady examined, “I really wouldn’t blame her. She wouldn’t want her child to be exposed to that.”

“Exactly.” Trish hopped down the kitchen table, closing the lid on the peanut butter jar, “In as much as I hate the fact that Knives decided to leave, I sort of understand why she felt like she had to. I just wish we knew where she was.”

“One thing’s for sure.” Dante shifted his weight on his feet, “V deserves another punch to the gut. _That fucking child._”

Their conversation was cut short when they heard a car roll into the garage of Devil May Cry. Trish, Lady, and Dante all headed out to see who it was. When they saw the Minotaurus, they knew exactly who just parked in the garage. Nico hopped off of the van and greeted everyone with a smile.  
  
“Hey everybody!” Nico said, giving everyone a wave. Dante smiled back. Trish waved, and Lady asked them if their trip on the boat was alright.

Nero hopped off the van as well and greeted everyone, but noticed V missing, “Uh… Where’s V?”

“In Knives’ room, sulking. Probably.” Dante said, devil may care attitude intact, “Missing the girl he broke up with.”  
  
Nico and Nero looked at each other, a knowing look on their faces. Dante caught this look and knew exactly what they meant.

“So… you know, huh?” He said, quietly.  
  
Nero looked at Dante, feigning ignorance, “Know about what?”

Dante pointed at the general direction of Knives’ room, then pointed at his belly and gesturing a rounded shape. Then, he whispered, “…_and V’s the father._”

Nico looked from side to side and Nero just nodded, “We know. She told us.”

“Well, there you go, ladies.” Dante tapped Lady and Trish’s shoulders, “Knives is in Fortuna.”

“So… the things you’re going to pick up…” Lady asked, “Are they Knives’ things?”

“Yup.” Nico said, huffing as she was already unloading some of the boxes from within the van. Trish and Lady, then decided to help her unpack while Dante and Nero entered the shop. The constant thud of the boxes and their collective footsteps were probably too loud that V walked out of Knives’ room to see what was going on.

“What is going on?” He mentioned, climbing down the stairs. He stopped after seeing Nero and Nico, “Nero?”

Nero dropped the boxes all of a sudden. Nico let out a surprised gasp and before anyone could react, Nero ran to V and punched him right on the face with his devil breaker, making his lip bruise and bleed. Dante, Trish, and Lady ran to where Nero was standing. By the time they got to him, Nero was already erupting in an angry monologue.  
  
“You are such _an ass!_” Nero said, angrily pointing at V, “I promised I’d only hit you in the face, but _oh my god _I want to knock you unconscious.”

“What the fuck is wrong with you!” V said, spitting blood on the floor.

“Nero, stop.” Trish tried to hold him back but he shrugged her hands off and continued pointing at V, rage was in his eyes.  
  
“How could you do that to her?!” Nero was practically screaming, getting closer and closer to V, “You called her useless! Powerless! _How could you?!”_  
  
Lady gasped. This was the first time she’s ever heard what awful things V told Knives. She couldn’t believe the things she was hearing. Trish and Nico were standing there, eyes wide, in shock at how angry Nero was. Dante, showing a rare sense of levelheadedness, came in between the two men. He pushed Nero back and gestured to V to not come any closer.

“Alright, kid. That’s enough.” Dante said, firmly, “And you, back off. You’ve been punched enough.” He gestured to V.

Lady tried to hold Nero back, but he just grunted and looked at the ground. Nico went to where Nero was and held his shoulders. She pushed him upstairs and said, “Come on, Nero. Let’s get Knives’ things.”

Nero was angrily stuffing the boxes with Knives things. Nico got some of her ammunition from under the bed and put it in a separate box. Lady and Trish decided to help out, getting out her clothes and shoes from the clothing cabinet and folding them neatly. Dante stood with V under the door beam, V running a finger on his busted lip.

“V…” Dante whispered to the person beside him, “They’re getting Knives’ things.”

“So…?” V looked at him, frowning.

“Who do you think told them to pack her things? Kyrie?” Dante looked at V, a bit annoyed and sarcastic, “If you wanted to find out where she is _so that you could apologize to her_, I think the best way is to ask Nico and Nero.”

“You’ve seen how angry Nero is with me. What make you think he’ll tell me where she is? She probably made them promise not to tell me.” V scoffed, crossing his arms on his chest.

“Psh, whatever.” Dante grunted. Then, he whistled at Nero, “Hey, Nero. Kid, where’s Knives right now?”

“She’s in---” Nero turned around, but upon seeing V right beside him, frowned and started to grumble “No. You already know. _He_ doesn’t deserve to know. We promised.”

“See?” V looked at Dante, kind of hating the fact that he was right.

“Yeah but… we never said anythin’ about not takin’ him with us.” Nico suddenly said, her eyes blank as she realized. She stopped packing and looked at V. V straightened his posture and looked at Nico with questioning eyes. What did she mean?

“No, Nico. We’re not taking him with us!” Nero argued.

“Knives might get mad at us for taking him with us, but them two need to talk.” Nico said, “If you want, point the finger at me. It was my idea, I’ll take the blame. But, I think these two need to talk… face to face.”

V remained silent. He knew he wanted to see you. He wanted to hold you and apologize. He didn’t know how you were going to react and he was willing to sacrifice a slap on the face if that meant you were going to hear him out. V stood still, waiting for Nero to speak.

Nero looked at Nico, then to V. Then, he looked back at Dante, “Psh, well whatever.” He said, with sheer annoyance, “Anyone else wants to come with? If you do, get packing.”

With that, everyone left the room and started packing their bags. Nico simply shook her head and thought that the van was going to be quite full going back. Nico got a picture from Knives’ bedside table and approached V in his room. He was already packing some of his things for the trip.  
  
“Hey, V.” Nico tapped his shoulder, “You should have this, I think.”

V got the picture from Nico’s hands. It was the picture of all of them, huddled together in front of the camera. He was hugging Knives from the back and she was smiling at him. V then looked at Nico, silently asking what it was for.

“I think you should look at that photo while we’re on the boat.” Nico said, sullenly, “It’ll make you think about what we’re here for. We’re here for family. I’m not taking you to Knives because it’s what she wants. It’s what this family needs. Don’t mess it up, got it?”

“Got it.” V said, nodding.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "That's what family does."
> 
> That's what this entire chapter is all about. In the previous chapter, you saw how V and Knives dealt with the situation. In this chapter, you saw how everyone else deals with it. And, as I said in the chapter, everyone EXCEPT FOR SOFTBOI V knows about Knives' condition. I wonder how things would turn out? Stay tuned! I'll fill you in. In the meantime, comment down below how you found this chapter and what you think should happen next.
> 
> Also, who here is keeping tabs on how many people punched V in the face? I know I am. HAHAHAH
> 
> ALSO. A giant big thank you to @Katkaotic87 AGAIN. This woman, ladies and gentlemen, is golden. She is classic and she gets me out of my rut, both in writing and in life. She actually gave me the idea of making Nico dance to Twice's Me Likey. Yes, that's Twice's Me Likey. Look it up. Thank you so much, Kat! I cookie dough liver you, boo!
> 
> Anyway, I'm gonna be taking a short break. I need to fix some stuff before writing again. I'll be back probably around next week? So please stay tuned. Until then...
> 
> I LOVE YOU ALL LIKE VERGIL LOVES POWER. STAY MOTIVATED, GUYS!


	6. Revelation

It was getting dark as Nico drove the van into the ferry boat going to Fortuna. The van was unusually packed with Knives’ things in several boxes. To add to the weight, everyone from the Red Grave City branch of Devil May Cry rode the van. Nico and Nero were riding up front as usual. Lady and Trish were in the dining area. V and Dante were seated side by side on the couch silently. The air was unusually thick that Nico didn’t even want to add her cigarette smoke to it. She could tell that everyone knew that Knives was pregnant… except the father of her child. No one in the van spoke for fear of saying too much and revealing to V that Knives was carrying his children. Once the van was already parked and steady, everyone immediately went out. Nico saw this as an escape tactic. No one wanted to be in the same place as V for fear of letting the cat out of its bag. In the end, only she and V remained in the van. 

She went to the dining area and sat across V, who was still silently seated on the couch. His hand was on his temples, seemingly meditating upon the gravity of the situation. If Nico was going to be honest, she actually wanted to punch V clear in the face, too. However, she knew that it wouldn’t do much good. One, apparently both Dante and Nero punched him already. And two, he’s already here riding the boat with the rest of them. She thinks he’s had enough people punch him in the face for him to (sort of) see the picture.

She exhaled as he called out to him, “Hey, V. How’re ya holdin’ up?”

“Awfully, but I’ll survive.” He replied, solemnly. He still had his hand on his face, but he turned to Nico with an expression that mirrored confusion and sadness… and fear.

“So… you broke up with her, huh?” Nico said, crouching forward. Her hands between her legs. 

“...Yes.” He replied, exhaling with a melancholy that had a color of its own. Nico saw that he regrets what he did.

Nico nodded, “Well… may I ask why?”

“I just…” V murmured, almost inaudibly. When he saw Nico waiting for his reply, he straightened up and spoke, “I called her powerless and hopeless. I called her useless. But, in reality… that was how I was feeling. I got so angry that my emotions got the better of me.” V paused, “But when I found out she left, I knew… I was just scared. I was _so_ _scared_.__” 

“Scared of what?” Nico asked.

“I was scared of losing her. She was sick for a month or so but she wouldn’t let me help. I didn’t know why and I didn’t get an explanation from her. I felt her building up walls that kept her and I apart. I felt like she was slowly drifting away from me…” V’s voice was cracking, “But then, I just had to get angry and tell her those god awful things. I lost her, either way.”

“You didn’t lose her, V.” Nico told him, her tone was warm and comforting… with a dash of venom. She was carefully examining V for something. Perhaps, a sense that he could still hope for the both of you patching things up somehow.

“What do you mean?” V asked.

“We took Knives to the hospital as soon as we could…” Nico told him a half-truth. She continued, “When we were there, there was a point where she cried… __hard__. She kept calling your name. She wanted you beside her. She wanted to see you so badly. Unfortunately, you did told her she was useless and that you had no need for someone like that in your life. So, she mourned for you… and that connection you two had that she’s convinced is broken.”

V looked down. He imagined you crying, tears streaming down your eyes. He wasn’t there to see it, but he could feel your pain. He felt so much guilt that he was the reason why you were crying. It made him clench his jaws and curl his fingers into a fist. He was getting angry now… at himself.

_You stupid fool. _He mentally reprimanded himself.

“But, you know… we __are __a family.” Nico said, lighting a cigarette to pause. With a puff, she said, “In as much as I’m not okay with what you did, I’m also not okay with what Knives did. Both of you need to get your shit together. That’s why you two need to talk… and this family will be with ya every step of the way.”

“Nero’s so angry, though…” V lamented.  
  
“Ha. Could you blame him? His mom came to Fortuna, crying her fucking eyes out. Then, he find out his dad ---_you_\--- told her all those nasty stuff and broke up with her. Who isn’t gonna be mad?” Nico snorted, a puff of smoke coming out of her nostrils.

“Are _you_ mad?” V asked, “At me? At Knives?”

“I’m mad, alright.” Nico smirked, “But I’m more mad at the situation that the people involved. And thankfully, situations can be fixed. The people involved? Eh.” She took one more puff from her cigarette, “This family is full of fucked up idiots, that’s for sure. But the only way this group of fucked up idiots survive is by helping each other out… the same way I’m tryin’ to help ya and Knives.”  
  
V blinked. For a simple person like Nico, she actually talks a lot of sense. She wasn’t letting her basic emotions like anger or sadness to cloud her judgement. Out of everyone involved, she was actually thinking of everyone’s well-being. V made a mental note to thank her at a later time.

“Well,” Nico stood up and stretched, finishing her cigarette, “This family needs fixin’ and you have got some explainin’ to do. And oh boy, do you have your work cut out for ya. Try to keep a level head when you talk to Knives, alright?”

Nico tapped V on the shoulders as she marched out of the van, trying to catch some air.

\--- ---

Kyrie was carrying some of the trash bags she and you collected after eating. You told her that you were feeling extremely sleepy and needed some shut eye. You proceeded to climb up the stairs and as soon as your face hit your pillow, you were knocked out. Kyrie peeked at your sleeping form on your bed and sighed. What was she going to do with you?  
  
She saw the sky morph from blue, to pink, to purple. The sun was about to completely disappear and you were still asleep. She hoped that you were having sweet dreams, at least. She knew you deserved to rest easy, considering the situation you were in and the stress you were experiencing. She shook her own head as she put down the trash bags in front of the house. She understood what you were feeling, but she also understood what Nero was feeling… and she was saddened by the idea that you and V fighting would toss the entire family into a very chaotic salad. Still, she new you were made of sterner stuff… she just hoped you found that strength within yourself, especially since you were about to become a mom. She also knew you still loved V. Somewhere inside her, she believed that V still loved you, too. However, just like any human relationship, it was getting clouded by fear. She knew that if you wanted your relationship to be stronger (which it needed to be, now that the both of you are going to be parents), you’d have to look for a way to overcome that.

She dusted off her hands as the sky turned into a rich purple color. In the distance, she could hear a distinct vehicle sound. She knew that Nero and Nico were back, so she went upstairs to wake you up. She sat on the edge of your bed and gently shook you awake. You slightly stirred as you opened your eyes. You scratched your eyes as you looked at Kyrie.  
  
“What…” You were still squinting. The light inside the room was on and you found it a bit too bright, “…time is it?”  
  
“It’s almost nighttime.” Kyrie informed you, “Nico and Nero are back.”  
  
“Oh.” You said, already feeling the strain of your muscles from all the boxes you were about to carry. You and Kyrie went downstairs to go outside. Nico was parking the car in front of your house just in time. You had the street lamps opened to give the street some light, and with a flick of a switch, the street was illuminated by a warm, orange light.  
  
Nero got out of the car and immediately walked to Kyrie’s side, giving her a kiss on the forehead. You looked at him, and he didn’t look too happy. You looked at him, concerned, but didn’t want to question him out loud since Kyrie just told you he was mad at you. Nico went to the back of the van so you couldn’t see what was going on. There was a lot of movement in the van, which was odd. You squinted your eyes to see, but failed.

“Uh, Knives…” Nero said, hesitantly, “You might, uh…”  
  
“Huh? What?” You turned to him.  
  
“You might want to prepare yourself.” Nero nervously smirked. He was holding Kyrie’s hand a bit too tightly, you observed. He seemed to be extremely nervous about something.

Nico got out of the van, carrying a cigarette between her fingers, but she left the door open. Moments after she came to your side, Lady hopped out and practically ran to hug you.  
  
“Hey, Knives!” She exclaimed, “Here you are!”  
  
You were shocked. You looked at Nico, silently ask her what was going on. She simply nodded at the van. You looked back at the vehicle to see Dante and Trish standing by the door, softly smiling at you.

“Hey, kid.” Dante nodded at you, “So, this is where you ran to…”

“Hey, Dante.” You said, softly. Lady still had her arm around you. She looked like she was about to cry, “So sorry I left without telling all of you.”

“Huh.” Dante nodded. Trish simply shrugged as she looked at her feet. 

There was a moment of silence that came after. You could tell that there was something else going on. You were looking at everyone and you noticed that no one was looking at you. So, you decided to break the silence.

“Uh, guys? What’s going on?” You asked, “Nico, where’s my stuff?”

“Before we get to unpacking your things…” Nico started to say. Her voice trailed to a stop as she nodded to Dante. Dante nodded back and moved to the side, opening the van door in the process. Out of the darkness, he came out. Slowly. Hesitantly.

You knew that tumble of dark hair anywhere. He was wearing his leather vest, all tied up with string on his stomach. His sandals hit the ground and he held his cane to the side.  
  
It was V.

“No…” You said, your eyes filled with fear. You buckled and turned to Nero, practically screaming, “Nero, you promised!”  
  
“It isn’t Nero’s fault.” Nico told you, holding your shoulder and making you face her, “It’s mine. You made us promise not to tell him where you were… but you didn’t say anything about not bringing him where you were.”  
  
“Nico! How could you?” You said, your eyes narrowing. You felt betrayed. Nico simply exhaled as she talked to you. Her voice sounded more irritated than you were used to.  
  
“Look here, missy! This thing you got here is a family and you two aren’t going to destroy it just because the both of you are _scared idiots_!” Nico erupted. It made you shut up and bite your lip. You were shaking out of fear, out of sadness… out of anger. Too many emotions were running through you, it was making your head spin. Nico continued, “Now, the both of you need to talk. So, _talk._ Now.”

You saw Nico, Nero, and Kyrie step away from you and go to the other side of the van. Dante, Lady, and Trish followed suit, with Lady telling you that they’re just there if you needed them. You nodded and sent her away. Finally, it was just V standing before you. His face was stoic, as always. His eyes had no shine in them… and he couldn’t look at you.

You just stared at your feet in silence, your hands pecking at the hemline of your shorts. You found that you didn’t have the strength to look at him, either. What was there to say? As far as you were concerned, everything ended between the both of you. You should start living a peaceful life now. Why was he even here?

V was looking at the ground, looking for the right words to say. You were standing there, fidgeting with your fingers and his immediate instinct was to simply run and hold you… but something was holding him back.  
  
_Fear._  
  
He swallowed and took one step forward, but as soon as he did, you took one step back.  
  
“Don’t come near me.” You said, your tone flat and hurt. Your voice was cracking, but you were still making it seem like you were being strong. V looked at you to see your eyes glistening with tears that you weren’t letting fall. You were heartbroken and confused, and he knew what he needed to do.  
  
“Knives, I’m---” He started but you cut him off.  
  
“What did you call me? That night… in the kitchen.” Your words stung him. He knew the words he’d called you but he knew he didn’t mean them. It was only then he realized the real gravity of his actions. It only made him want to apologize more. He was silent for a long time and it got on your nerves, so you decided to scream, “What did you call me!”  
  
“I called you useless, okay?” V replied, his voice practically choking the air out of him. He looked down, not having the strength to look at you, “I called you powerless, helpless, and pathetic!”  
  
“Say it again…” You said, your eyes looking straight at his. The look of anger and betrayal was apparent in them, “Say it again while looking at me in the eyes.”

“Knives, please.” V begged you, but you weren’t budging. You simply narrowed your eyes at him, your hands balled into fists.  
  
“Call me useless and pathetic to my face, you idiot!” You screamed. Your tears finally fell from your eyes and your voice finally fell into a sob, “Say it to me again… so that I can finally let you go.”  
  
“I… don’t want to be let go.” V said, feeling helpless at your pain. The air was thick with it, and you crying in front of him wasn’t helping him in any way, “Knives, I’m sorry.”  
  
“You’re sorry?” You cocked your head back, “_You’re sorry? _That’s all you have to say, V?”  
  
“What do you want me to say?” V said, panicked, “Tell me and I’ll say it. Knives, please.”

“Do you know how scared I was?” You had your hands to your waist and you were looking to the side, “Do you know how I didn’t want you to see me as useless and weak? Do you know, huh?” You wiped the tears from your eyes with a swipe, “Do you know how confused I was, coming here?”

“I was scared, too!” V insisted, “I was scared of losing you.”  
  
_“But you broke up with me!”_ You screamed at him, raising your hands in frustration.  
  
“I know, I know! I’m stupid for doing that. I was mad, but that doesn’t give me any reason to talk to you the way that I did!” V said, moving closer to you. You shook your head and it made him stop, “Knives, I’m so sorry.”

“I’m sorry, too.” You coughed it out, but you were still very angry, “I needed you but I didn’t want you to see me so weak and immobile. I shouldn’t have kept you from being there for me. I know that now. But…”

V stood there, confused. You looked for the words you wanted to say. You were lost, your head was murky, and the stress of the situation was making you dizzy.

“...we can’t go back to how things used to be.” You choked the words out of you chest, “Things have changed.”

“What are you saying?” V looked at you, wondering what you meant. You looked more sad than angry now. The tears were constantly falling from your eyes and you were slowly giving into the fear. V was scared that he was about to lose you forever.  
  
“You’re not ready to hear this.” You said, sadness seeping through each and every word, “The reason why I kept quiet that night.”  
  
“Tell me. I can handle it. Hell, I’ve killed demons. How big a deal can this be?” V tried to comfort you. You simply laughed through your tears. You wiped your tears with your fingers then afterwards, you dug your hands through your pockets. After fishing two square sheets of paper, you slowly walked towards him.

“This is probably the biggest deal anyone can ever be faced with…” You said, reluctantly. You placed the pieces of paper into his hands.  
  
He looked at them with a careful look. It was a photo of sorts. It was all black and white, and there were letters on the top but he couldn’t make sense of it.  
  
“What is this?” V looked at you, looking for your reply.

“V…” You looked at him, your eyes softening, “I’m pregnant.” She pointed back to the photos. “These are ultrasound scans. I’m carrying _twins._”

_“...What?”_ A moment passed by and the information was starting to hit V, “Are they…” V’s eyes were wide with shock, _“…mine?”_ His jaw instantly dropped as he stared at you blankly.  
  
“Uh… duh?” You softly smiled. Your tears have slowly stopped falling and your eyes were suddenly red, “Who else have I been having sex with this past year?” 

Dante and the entire crew slowly walked toward the side of the van you and V were at. They were silently waiting for V’s reaction to your revelation. V still stood there, jaw dropped and looking at you. Pure shock was in his eyes. You were standing there, biting your lip. You were worried that he would react badly to your news, at the very least. All of a sudden, he dropped his cane and the ultrasound scans to the ground. He immediately wrapped his arms around you and hugged you so tight, you found yourself crushed.

“Oh my god!” He said, his head buried in the hollow of your neck, _“Oh my god!”_

“I know I shouldn’t have kept this from you. I hope you can forgive me…” You told him in a whisper, “I’m so sorry…”  
  
“Of course, my little wanderer. Of course. It’s alright. We’re okay.” He said, caressing your hair. He let go of your, letting his hands rest on your arms. As the realization slowly solidified, he turned to the entire crew, his jaws dropped again, “I’m… going to be a _father!”_  
  
“No shit, Shakespeare. You already are!” Nero barked at him, as a joke.

“See? Now, we can all be a family again!” Nico said, happily. Then, she touched your belly again, “But this time, we’d have two little ones incoming.”

“I didn’t need to keep your promise after all, huh Knives?” Trish smiled at you, finally speaking.

“No, Trish. But thanks for keeping it anyway.” You told her, your smile mirroring hers.

“Fuck.” Dante suddenly muttered. Everyone looked at him, puzzled. He continued, “I’m going to be an uncle.”  
  
“Uh, hello?” Nero said, obviously miffed, “You’re _my_ uncle.”  
  
“Yeah, but you were already nineteen when I met you! These are going to be babies!” Dante said, “There are going to be _infants_ in the shop__.”__

“Um…” V started, raising a finger.  
  
“You are not an infant, sort-of-brother. Although, sometimes you act like one.” Dante shut him up.

“So!” Lady chirped, “Have you thought of names?”  
  
“Um… no?” You shook your head, “They’re as big as raspberries right now, so… it’s a bit too early. And besides…” You looked at V, “I want to decide what to name them together.”  
  
V smiled at you, with his teeth out. Exactly the way you liked them.

“Oh wow. What a pretty smile you got there, V.” Nico said, punching him on the side. He yelped but laughed as soon as he saw Nico snickering. V still had his arm around you, his fingers slowly caressing your arm. They were warm and they comforted you. Nico was fawning all over your belly again, but this time Lady was right there beside her. Dante was still reflecting on his new uncle status with Trish. Nero and Kyrie were standing side by side, smiling at you and V.

Everything, you thought, was perfect…

…that is, until the ground shook from beneath your feet and an explosion erupted somewhere in the distance.

“Fuck, _really? Now, of all times?_” __Nero grumbled as the entire crew ran to the edge. Dante looked over the hill edge to see a giant demon erupt from the ground. He clicked his tongue and said, “Well, that’s new. I haven’t seen one of those before.” He turned to the crew, “What do you guys think of taking this thing down free of charge?”

“Well, I didn’t bring guns for nothing.” Trish said, cocking her guns.

“I’m just gonna get Kalina Ann.” Lady said, running back to the van.

“Nero, get Kyrie back into the house.” Dante commanded. Without a word, Kyrie ran back to the house. Nero got the Red Queen and Blue Rose equipped on him and Dante got his legendary sword (also named Dante) in hand. V unhanded you and whistled. In an instant, Griffon and Shadow emerged from his skin.  
  
“Hey, Knives!” Griffon looked at you, flapping his wings enthusiastically.  
  
“Hey, Griff.” You smiled at him. Shadow simply padded his way towards you and rubbed his head on your knees, “Hello, Shadow.”  
  
“They missed you.” V said, “They were chewing my ass when I broke up with you.”  
  
“Why, _thank you Griffon.” _You said this out loud, making sure V heard you. V simply rolled his eyes at you, “Now, you need to go back to the h---.”  
  
“Nuh-uh.” You raised a finger to his lips, silencing him, “I’m fighting. I’ve lost too much time with you. I’m not sitting around waiting for you to come back. Besides…” You put your finger down and pulled him down to your level. You kissed him and said, “I promised to always be by your side, remember?”  
  
V lifted the corner of his lip to form his signature smirk. You raised your arm and summoned your knives. They materialized, already holstered onto your body. You unsheathed a pair and spun them in your hands.  
  
“Let’s go kick some demon ass.” You said, hanging onto V as Griffon carried the both of you off the hill edge.

\--- ---

The entire crew landed at the other side of the hill one after the other. Dante put his sword on his shoulder and assessed the situation at a distance. The demon gave out a big roar towards the sky and everyone took a step back.

“Woah… noisy fellow, huh?” Dante chuckled.

“Well, it can’t exactly recite the alphabet now, can it?” Nero retorted, putting his gun out and loading it.

You tried to move closer to Dante, but you felt V’s hand linger on your waist a bit tighter. He was worrying about you… a little bit more now than before. However, he had his stare at the demon, trying to avoid your eyes. You knew that it was V’s instinct to protect you and take care of you, but with him about to become a father and you carrying his children, you knew he was even more scared of you getting hurt. You simply looked at him and sighed.  
  
“V…” You whispered, “You can let go of me now.”

“What if…” He looked at you, narrowing his eyes, “…I don’t want to?”

“Seriously, dude. I will slice off your hand if you don’t let go.” You laughed, mirroring his narrowed eyes. He knew you meant every word, so he immediately let go of your waist and raised his hands away from you.

“I know you’re just worried, but…” You smiled at him, marching slowly away from him, “I’ll be fine.”

“...As you always are.” V smirked. He extended his arm to let Griffon land on it while Shadow followed your trail.

“Alright, alright, alright.” Dante said, swinging his giant sword, “So, this is how we’re going to do this shit. Nero, Knives… you’re with me. We’re going to dance with this demon up close and personal. Trish, Lady, V… you can take this beast from afar.” Shadow growled at Dante, baring his teeth, “Yeah, well I guess you can come along for the melee too, kitty cat.”

You, Dante, and Nero got to jogging that eventually ended up as a run. Dante immediately jumped and tried to hit the demon’s face, but the demon swung it’s arm that almost knocked Dante unconscious, had he not maneuvered to the side. Nero tried to deal with the demon’s arms with the Red Queen, constantly slicing at it with full force. You were in charge of knocking its feet down. You got your knives and started hacking away at the feet of this demon, careful not to get stepped on or crushed along the way.

You felt your body strain while fighting. You haven’t fought this vigorously in a long time and the feel of your muscles flexing was a welcome kind of pain. You felt something kick in your abdomen, but you decided to not focus on what you were feeling and continued to hack and slash

Lady had Kalina Ann directly firing rounds at the beast’s head from afar, along with Trish who was firing her guns at it. V was reading his book to Griffon, who has constantly giving out attacks on command. Shadow would occasionally transform into a stabbing giant pike and stab the beast from multiple angles. Nightmare would come later on to beat the beast to a pulp for as long as V could summon him, but it still wouldn’t give in.

This demon was huge, almost as big as an entire building. It was scaly, with a thick, leathery hide. It’s head had a giant fin. It had multiple eyes on its head and body. It was strong but slow. Its size was weighing it down. However, it didn’t seem to care how many buildings it was destroying. Even if the area you were in had no civilians and all the buildings were thoroughly vacated, the destruction this beast was causing was still disturbing. When it gave out a sound, it was more of a roar than a screech. It was incapable of human speech which said something about it’s intelligence.  
  
Basically, it was stupid but it was extremely strong.

Everyone was giving this battle all they got. About a half hour in, you felt the demon slowly losing its strength, but it was still roaring its loudest… hoping to intimidate the rest of your crew. Dante launched himself onto the demon beast’s head and lodged his sword into the back of its neck.

He rode the beast like a farm animal. He was laughing as he screamed at Nero, “Hey, kid! What are you waiting for? Shoot this fucker in the head!”  
  
“Oh, alright! Keep it still! I don’t want to shoot you!” Nero said, aiming Blue Rose at the beast’s head.  
  
“Shoot away! I’ll live.” Dante laughed.

Nero shot a full clip at the demon and all his shots landed right between the beast’s eyes. With a dying roar, the beast fell to the ground. It shook the land and made a rush of sand and smoke erupt all around. As it disintegrated into dust, you saw Lady and Trish spitting out dust from their mouths and you saw V dusting his hair and clothes. You shook the sand out of your hair and body as well as you ran towards where V was.  
  
_Were you running on quicksand?_  
_____  
_You felt disconnected as your knees fell to the ground. You weren’t feeling any lightheadedness or pain… In fact, you weren’t feeling anything at all. You had this blank stare on your face as you saw the entire crew run to you. V caught you just before your head hit the ground. You wanted to stand up but you felt your legs turn to jelly. You had no strength.

“Knives!” Dante and Nero ran to where you are. Trish and Lady briskly walked to where V was cradling you.  
  
“I’m fine, guys.” You were laughing at them, looking at you with their worried faces.

“Knives… Your legs.” Trish said, her face was mortified. You looked down and all you saw was red.  
  
_Blood._  
  
_You were bleeding._

“Ah!” All of a sudden, a sharp, searing pain burst through from your stomach. Your hand immediately rushed to the area, “Oh no! Oh no! Oh no!”  
  
You were panicking. You didn’t know what was going on. You were bleeding, blood flowing down your inner thighs down to your knees. You felt the light die in your eyes as V held you closer to his chest. Your breathing was shallow. You were hyperventilating. You didn’t know what this was, but you knew it wasn’t good.

_No! Children, no! Don’t leave me! Please! _You mentally shot the thought through your body, hoping it would listen. You prayed, pleading and begging that it protected your children. You didn’t know what you would do if you lost them.

“Knives! Calm down!” V was screaming at you. You were crying. _You were bawling your eyes out._ You were slowly losing your children just several minutes after revealing to V that he was going to be a father. The pain in your stomach intensified, making you cry out in pain.   
  
Nero screamed at Nico, who was watching worried from above the hill, “Nico! Come here now! Knives is hurt!” Nico immediately ran towards the van and got it moving.

“Y/N!” V screamed at you using your real name, holding your face towards him, “You have to calm down. Help is coming.”

You were sobbing, you held his hand on your face. With tears in your eyes, you begged, “V, please! I’m so sorry! I beg you. Save them! Please!”

“Y/N, I---” He said, holding the hand on your stomach, “I don’t know what to do!”  
  
“I don’t care! Just please! Save them!” You were barely audible as you begged.  
  
“Dante, what do I do?” V asked him, obviously in a panic himself. Dante just shook his head, obviously clueless and desperate. V returned his gaze at you. You were heavily wincing in pain as you screamed. Nico’s van stopped beside the crew and Dante immediately carried you while Nero opened the door. Everyone rushed inside after Dante laid you down onto the couch. Your sight was fading and your thoughts were slowly becoming blank. V knelt beside you, holding your hand.

“Please…” You were still begging softly as your consciousness was slowly drifting away from you, “Save them…”  
  
“Knives, I can’t lose you.” V said, his eyes were letting go some tears. He gripped your hand even further, but you weren’t feeling anything anymore. The pain has numbed you of all feeling. The world was slowly turning cold and your lids were getting heavy.

“I can’t… lose them.” You said, your mind slowly fading to black, “Save our children…V…”  
  
And then, there was silence. You were gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, mere mortals! It is, I. I am back. Like how I imagine Dante and Vergil would be for DMC6.
> 
> BUT I DIGRESS.
> 
> Anyway, here's the 6th chapter! I hope it was alright with all of you. I had a bit of trouble, personal life wise, that made it quite difficult to write this chapter. I actually wrote 90% of this in a cafe. It was more relaxing that way. Again, I hope it meets everyone's expectation.
> 
> AND... cliff hanger!!! I am so sorry for being such a bitch, but I'm trying things out. Put in the comments what you think would happen next!
> 
> Also, put in the comment your favorite scene from this fic so far. Mine's still Nico dancing to Likey from the previous chapter. I absolutely love it.
> 
> I would also love to give credit to @Anozu for creating a beautiful cover for both my fics! She's on twitter and tumblr, so go find her at @vanifoxtrot! She does wonderful art. Check her out!
> 
> And I would love to give credit to @KatKaotic87 AGAIN. I hope you aren't tired of me giving you credit, gurl. Because Imma keep doin' it. Hahahaha I hope you like this chapter. I hope it meets your expectations. <3
> 
> Anyway, til next chapter, people! And always remember that:
> 
> 1) crackers aren't a meal (sorry inside joke)
> 
> and
> 
> 2) I LOVE YOU ALL LIKE VERGIL LOVES POWER!!!
> 
> Stay motivated, everyone!


	7. Finally

The night was cold and dark and the streets were thankfully empty. Nero was on the phone with Kyrie, telling her that they’d be at the hospital because you were unconscious and were bleeding between your legs. Nico drove almost frantically, knocking over almost everything inside the van… Dante, Lady, and Trish included. V had his hands tightly grasping yours, and he was begging you to wake up. He was practically screaming your name --- your _real _name --- as soon as your eyes closed. Griffon was trying to stay put on top of the jukebox and Shadow kept growling at Nico’s driving, especially after the coffee pot on the stove dropped on his head.

Nico practically made a sharp turn into the hospital entrance, almost running over a few security guards along the way. The neon blue Devil May Cry sign on the van gave the personnel an idea as to who was in the van. The moment Nico stopped in front of the emergency unit, they already had a bed and a team of nurses ready for you. Dante practically had to push V to the side to get you, his face marked with worry and grief. He lifted you in his arms, blood dripped right off of your feet. Lady and Trish opened the door and Nero helped Dante get you over to the bed. Upon being informed that you were pregnant and that you were bleeding, the doctors immediately tried to stop the bleeding… however your body wasn’t cooperating. You were simply there, unconscious. V had to stand beside you as he watched the nurses put an IV drip on your other hand. He held your free hand, gently yet desperately. He was helpless. He couldn’t do anything. Lady was crying in Trish’s arms. Nico had tears in her eyes, but she wasn’t sobbing… trying to be strong in this situation. Nero was already punching a wall while Dante was trying to keep him from damaging public property.

“Are you the father of her child?” the doctor asked V, who was standing beside you.

“Children.” He corrected the doctor, eyes narrowed in anger and grief, “And yes.”

“Alright.” The doctor had to step back, fearful of V’s angry gaze. But he kept his cool, “We need to have your consent to operate.”  
  
“Wait, sorry. What?” Nico butted in.

Nero trailing her, “What do you mean, _operate_?”

“There’s a possibility she’s having a miscarriage.” The doctor said quickly, “Given that she hasn’t had enough time to sleep or eat the past few days, plus the additional pressure of the demon slaying and…” He looked at V, only be glared at. His voice hitched in panic as he continued, “In order to save her life, we need to remove the embryos inside her.”  
  
“What!” V said, snapping his head at the doctor, “No! You can’t!”  
  
“If we don’t do that, you might risk losing both her and the kids!” The doctor argued. He was also starting to get pretty desperate. V couldn’t help himself. He had to punch the wall with his gloved hands, causing his knuckles to bleed.  
  
“_I can’t… lose them…”_ V heard your voice in his head. _“Save our children…V…”_

_“_God damn it!” Dante screamed, grabbing his hair and walking away from the bed. The stress and the pressure was building up to an insane amount. Everyone was sort of losing their marbles. Griffon perched himself on the IV drip stand, to the doctor’s shock, while Shadow reintegrated himself into V. Griffon carefully looked at your unconscious form, then looked at V, worried.

“Oh no…” The demonic bird said, “You’d have to choose, V. Just lose the children… or lose them _and _Knives…”

V looked at your face. You looked like you were peacefully sleeping. He placed his hand on your forehead, carefully brushing off your hair. At that moment, he was seemingly drawn to the ink on his skin. Then, it hit him.  
  
“Wait…” His voice started to sound calm. Everyone started to look at him, “What if I don’t _have to_ choose…?”

Nero and Nico looked at him, dumbfounded. Lady stopped crying as Trish put her to the side. Dante approached V and put a supporting hand on his shoulder.  
  
“Do it, V.” Dante said, “For family.”

\--- ---

Birds were chirping outside the window as you slowly opened your eyes. You heard the rushing tides of the sea and the rustling of the leaves as you slowly examined where you were. You were in your old room in Ferrum Hills, but the walls of your room were a more saturated pink than you remember. Exactly like how you left it when you were eighteen years old.

You sat up on your bed and grabbed your head. It hurt and it throbbed mildly, but all in all, you could say you were alright. The air felt light in your lungs as you breathed steadily. The sun shone on your face, almost directly… but for some weird reason, you weren’t blinded by the light. Your hand immediately went to your stomach, softly caressing it. But, your hand stopped as you tried to remember how you got to where you were in the first place.

_What was I doing before getting here?_ You thought. You shook your head but found no answer. Your head was blank and numb. Only the mild throbbing was present, but no thoughts or memories lay within it. You had to close your eyes very tightly in order to see splashes of color, disembodied voices, and fragments of a memory… but none of it made any sense.  
  
That was definitely strange._  
_

You saw in your head the face of a man with beautiful emerald green eyes. They reminded you of the color of trees during the summer… so lush, and green. So full of life. But, the man looked at you and his eyes were… _crying. _Tears fell from his eyes. You felt it hit your hand, cold and sad. He was tattooed from the neck down. He was screaming your name… telling you to wake up.  
  
_Wake up from what? _You asked.

“You know, you can sit there all day and solve absolutely nothing, little bird.” A voice called out to you from the door. Your head snapped to the direction of the voice to see a lady standing there, her hair tied up in a messy bun and arms crossed across her chest. You knew who that lady was and you knew you wanted to see her more than anything.  
  
It was your mother.  
  
“Mom!” You practically jumped off of your bed to run to her and hug her.

“Hey there, Y/N.” She held you close to her chest, running her fingers through your hair, “You’ve grown.” She held your shoulders and looked at you from afar, “…but you’ve lost weight.”

“Lost the baby fat, mom.” You laughed, but the smile quickly faded from your face as you looked at her, “But, mom… what are you doing here?”  
  
“What do you mean?” She asked, softly smiling at you and brushing a part of your hair behind your ear.  
  
“Mom, you’re…” Your voice trailed to a stop. You didn’t want to say she was dead. A part of you still didn’t want to accept it.  
  
“…dead?” She laughed at you, “I know, silly. What makes you think _you’re_ still alive?”

“Wait.” Your heart stopped, “I’m _dead?”_

“Uh, not quite.” Your mom rolled her eyes at you, she was obviously amused by your confusion, “But you’re _almost_ completely dead.”

You blinked at her, confusion written all over your face. This was all too much to handle.

Your mom took your hand and patted it to comfort you, “Come on. Let’s go to the kitchen. I made your favorite blueberry pancakes. I’m sure that’ll put a smile on your face.”

She led you down the stairs. On the walls were pictures hung in beautifully simple black frames. You’ve never seen these pictures before, you thought. You held your mom back as you looked at a picture of a group of people, huddled in front of a van. You saw yourself in that photo, smiling. And you were being held in the arms of…  
  
“Uh, this is…” You stuttered.

“Oh, that?” Your mom looked at the picture and took it off the wall, “That’s your new family. Devil May Cry, remember?” She handed you the photo and you looked at it in your hands.  
  
“Devil… May…?” You frowned as bits and pieces of memory slowly recollected in your mind. You remembered the big man with silvery white hair, holding two pistols in his hand. You knew his name was… _Dante_. You remembered his playing with your hair and dancing really weirdly to make you laugh. The man beside him, who also had silvery white hair, his name was… _Nero._ He was Dante’s… _nephew_. He had a auburn brown-haired girl in his arms and her name was… _Kyrie._ You remembered her to be really gentle and really kind. The way she smiled at Nero gave you the clue that they were an item, too. The girl with a lot of tattoos and was wearing glasses. She was seated in the driver’s seat and giving the camera a thumbs up. Her name was… _Nico._ You remembered how her voice sounded like: thick, accented, and sweet. She was like an older sister to you. On the side of the van stood two women, one was tall, blonde, and slim. The other was a bit shorter, with short black hair, and her eyes were of two different colors. These were… _Trish and Lady._ Then, you looked at the man who had his arms around you. He was smirking. His green eyes shone so brightly, you could tell he was happy when the photo was taken. Looking at him through this picture made your heart expand so much, you felt like it was about to burst. A tear fell down your eye as you remembered his name.  
  
“V…” You said, tracing a finger on the photo of his face.

“So… you finally remember?” Your mom gently took the photo from you and placed it back onto the wall. She was looking at you, warmly yet concerned.

“I… do.” You said, slowly. Your mom held your hand tighter and led you down into the kitchen. She sat you down the dining table and poured you a glass of orange juice. She then sat opposite you, and looked at you with a sad smile.  
  
“Do you remember why you’re here, little bird?” Your mother asked you, her eyes never leaving yours. Her warmth enveloped you, comforting you.

You closed your eyes, letting your memories take you over. You remembered you were fighting a giant demon with the crew. You put your body under tremendous pressure and effort, even if you knew you haven’t slept much or ate much. Everyone in the crew was around you, trying to take down the demon as best as they could. You knew you were feeling something kicking in your stomach. That was where your---

“My babies.” Your eyes shot wide open, your hand instinctively moving to your stomach.

Your memories drifted back to when you fell to the ground, blood dripping between your legs. A tremendous pain erupted from your belly, slowly creeping onto every part of your body. V was holding you, telling you to calm down and that help was on the way but you just kept begging him to---

“I was…” Your eyes were now solemn. They were sad. The pain lingered in your body… but it was like an echo of what the pain should’ve been, “…having a miscarriage.”

“Mm-hmm.” Your mom said, tapping her fingers on the table, “Right now, you’re actually unconscious in a hospital, almost dead because of all the blood you lost. You’re about to lose the twins you’re carrying, too.”

“No, mom. I can’t die yet!” You told her, desperation seeping into each and every word.

“That’s the best part about this, honey.” Your mom smiled at you, “Unlike me, you still have a choice. You can still choose to go back, you know. After all, you’re just _almost _dead. Not _completely_ dead.”

“So… we’re not really back in Ferrum Hills?” You asked, looking around you, “What is this? Some kind of afterlife?”

“Somewhat. It’s where the dead can meet the living in order to help them make _the choice_.” Your mom said, sipping some orange juice, “You won’t be able to leave until you choose, though. Time moves very strangely in a place like this.”

You sighed, taking the glass of juice beside you and taking a sip. You were silent, deep in thought. The memories still flooding your mind. Your mother had to speak in order to get you out of your thoughts.  
  
“Well, first things first.” Your mother told you, “So… you got pregnant, huh?”

“Yeah…” You nodded, a bit embarrassed by that fact.

“What was it like, finding it out?” Your mother asked you.

“Scary. Absolutely terrifying.” You looked at her, “I felt like I could finally understand what you went through when you found out you were carrying me. I could empathize because I was in a similar position.”

“I see…” Your mother said, looking down. Sadness showing in her eyes.

“Mom… I need to ask you a question.” You told her, “I mean, I think I need to ask you _a lot_ of questions… but this one can’t wait.”

“Hmm?” Your mother looked at you, her eyes focused and ready. You took a deep breath and worded your question carefully. You felt lose and unsure.

“When… did you realize that you were ready to become a mom?” You said, slowly and deliberately. You looked at your mother who was smiling sadly at the other end of the table.

“Honestly? Never.” She answered you, “I was never ready for it… even until the day I died.” You were silent. To be honest, her answer shocked you. You remembered everything she did for you, and a part of you wondered if she planned everything to a T or she was simply winging it and making it. She was always there for you, even up until that time where she hid you in the closet and ended up dying by being stabbed by a demon talon. Your mother continued her answer, “I was only sixteen when I found out you were growing in me. After finding out, I didn’t know what to do. That’s why I went to my parents to ask for their advice… but, as you know, they ended up disowning me and kicking me out of the house. At that moment, I knew that I had to raise you by myself and I had to do a good job because I didn’t want you to go through your life helpless and alone.” She reached out for your hand and you took it, “And seeing you grow into this wonderful woman, making all the choices you’ve made... God, I am so proud of you.”

You smiled softly, your heart expanding once more, “Thank you, mom. It was hard being without you.”  
  
“Oh? But you were never without me.” Your mom smiled at you, holding your hand tighter. This comforted you, “I was always with you, every single step of the way. I was always watching you, making sure you were protected and alright.” She paused and brought her other hand over to cup your hands into hers, “And now, I’m glad to see that you’re loved… by all of those wonderful people you consider your family.”

“I don’t know how you’d react to V, though.” You giggled, “He can be a handful sometimes.”

“V. That’s your… _boyfriend,_ right?” Your mother asked, “Long black hair, tattoos all over his body, constantly scowling? The father of the children you’re carrying?”  
  
You nodded.

“Oh, I know him.” You mother smiled at you, tapping your hands gently, “He _is_ quite the handful… but so are you. His sad and isolating fits well with your happy and inviting. And he is wise where you are not, while you see some things in an angle where he doesn’t see them. You two work so good together. Absolutely perfect for each other.”

“But we just fought.” You said, “We even broke up for a moment there.”

“Because you’re still two very different people, sweetheart. You’d have to overcome that difference if you want to be good parents for your children. Don’t make the same mistake I did.”

“Huh?”

“My mistake was related to your father…” She suddenly started, “I know I’ve never told you anything about him, and I’m sorry.” She retracted her hands and put them on her lap. She was looking down at them and toying with the hem of her shirt. A habit, you thought, that she passed down to you, “When my parents told me to leave and never come back, I wanted to go to him and tell him we were having you. But I realized… we were children, too. He was a year older than me, but he still lived with his parents and he still had his whole life ahead of him. If I told him I was pregnant and his parents found out, he might be disowned, too. And I knew he couldn’t take that. He wouldn’t choose me over his family. We were young… we didn’t even know what love meant. So, I marched over to Lumina Peak. And the rest was history.” She looked at you, “My mistake was jumping to the conclusion that he wouldn’t be able to become a father because he was too young and that he wouldn’t choose me over his family. I don’t know what decision he would’ve made because I robbed him of that opportunity to choose. I robbed you of an opportunity to live your life with a father… or at least, I didn’t give him the opportunity to be one.”

“You mean… he never knew about me?” You frowned. You didn’t expect this, but that fact actually broke your heart.  
  
“No, I never told him. For all he knew, I just vanished.” Your mother said, apologetically, “And because of my choice, I robbed you of the chance to have a father.”  
  
_Silence._

“That’s why I was saddened when you were making the same mistake when you got pregnant. I think reacting to trauma like that is passed down the gene pool.” Your mother tried to joke, but you weren’t laughing. You simply looked at her, concerned. She sighed, “You were going to deprive your children of a father who was going to love them dearly… as dearly and warmly as he loves you. All because of what? You thought he was too young to understand what being a father meant. You didn’t even give him the chance to choose. You simply… _left._ But, that’s where our stories widely differ.”

“Mom…” You told her, wondering where she was going with this.  
  
“I was alone, totally and utterly. I didn’t have a place to go to or people to confide in. _You did_.” Your mom smiled, “You had Nico, Nero, and Kyrie waiting for you back home. You told them about the fact that you were pregnant, that you left V without telling him, and that you were going to raise the babies by yourself.” Your mother sighed, “Nico decided that she wasn’t going to let you make such a stupid decision… especially since all of them know how much you and V love each other, but you were both just so scared. You had a _family _looking out for you when I didn’t. They decided for you when you were incapable of making the choice yourself. Family does that. And you, little bird, have a family… one that I could never give to you.”

You softly smiled at your mom, grateful for her wisdom at a time like this.  
  
You asked, “So… about the choice. When do I make it?”

“You can make it anytime, I guess.” Your mother said, “You can stay here, be with me, and leave your family behind.” She said, pointing to the upstairs where your room was, “Or… you could go back, be with your family, and… as a treat…”  
  
Your mother took out a vial with black liquid in it. It was shimmering and almost metallic… almost as if it was alive.

“...you can save your children.”

“How?” You wondered. Your mother handed you the vial and closed your hand around it.  
  
“That’s --- whether you believe it or not--- from V. Right now, he’s doing anything and everything he can to save both you and the kids… but he needs your help. He needs you to accept it.” She said, looking at you while tapping your hand, “If you go back now without drinking that, you’ll lose your children. If you do, well… you keep your children. Of course, I miss you and would love it if you stayed, but…” Your mother smiled at you as she led you to the door going to the outside of the house. You followed her silently, holding the vial of black liquid in your hands, “…you have a family waiting for you, and I don’t want you to miss that for the world.”

You nodded. You looked at your mom. She was smiling at you and coaxing you to take the liquid. You uncorked it and drank it in a single gulp. Immediately, your entire body went warm and heavy. It was like something was growing inside you, trying to warm itself by rubbing itself under your skin. It wasn’t painful or uncomfortable… just _new_.

Your mother opened the front door to let in a very bright light, almost a yellow white but it never blinded you. You looked at your mother and hugged her. She held you close as she patted your head.

“I’m going to miss you.” She said, “But I know you’ll be an _excellent mother.”_

“I learned from the best.” You smiled, a happy tear falling from your eyes. Your mother wiped it off with her thumb and looked at you.  
  
“So beautiful.” She cooed, “As beautiful as the day I first laid eyes on you, little bird. But, you have to go now. We’ll see each other again… in the end.”  
  
“I know.” You told her, “My family is waiting.”  
  
“Before you go, I need you to do something for me.” Your mother told you, holding onto your hands for the last time.  
  
“Anything.” You told her, holding onto her tightly.

“Promise me you’ll name one of your children after me.”

\--- ---

You lazily opened your eyes to see white. At first, you thought it was from light, but you knew it was from the early morning sunshine flooding the pale white walls of your room. You blinked a few times just to reorient yourself. Your body was heavy and stiff, as if you were asleep for an entire month. You lifted your hands to your face only to see an IV tube lodged deep into it. You initially thought the room was empty, but as you looked over to where the sofa was, you saw him there… sleeping, curled up in a fetal position because he was too tall to fit the seat.

“V?” You softly said, almost inaudibly but for some reason, he opened his eyes. He opened them slowly at first, but when he saw you sitting on the bed, he practically jumped and ran to your side. He then hugged you very tightly.

“Oh my god, you’re awake.” He said, breathing a sigh of relief. You could feel his breath through the fabric of the hospital gown. You hugged him as well and tried to take in his scent. You felt so warm and welcomed in his arms.

You distanced yourself and asked, “How long was I asleep?”

“A week. You were gone for a week.” He told you, taking a seat at the edge of your bed.

“A week?” You cocked your head to the side. That would explain the stiffness. However, you remembered your dream. You talked to your mother… but you couldn’t remember much of what you talked about. You remembered the important parts, though. You remember her telling you about your father, her critique of V, the black vial, and her last request. You sighed, thankful that you saw your mother again. You looked at V, who looked absolutely worried about you. But, you could sense that something was different. You narrowed your eyes at him, making him focus on you.  
  
“What are you looking at?” He asked.  
  
“You.” You said, “But something’s different, I don’t---”

“Look closer.” He smirked at you. He pointed at his head with an index finger and that’s when you realized…  
  
…that his hair was silvery white. His natural hair color.  
  
“Oh my god. Is Nightmare out?” Your eyes popped out.

“Not…” He was softly laughing, “…quite.”

He reached over your shoulder to grab a lock of hair from your back. He then told you to look at it. You expected to see your own hair color, but for some reason, you hair was now a shiny, midnight black.

“He’s in you now.” V told you, “I transferred him to you, hoping that his demonic energy will save the lives of our children… just like you asked me to.”

“And…” You looked at him, “…what happened to our children?”  
  
V smiled, “They’re safe, Knives. They’re still inside you as of the moment. Nightmare is taking care of them… in you.”

You gave out a relieved sigh as you felt tears warm up your eyes, threatening to fall down. You were so undeniably happy. You hugged V and thanked him over and over again. He simply dug his face deeper into the hollow of your neck, occasionally kissing it. A sign that he was happy that he could save you and the children.

“How are they?” You asked him, gently, “The children, I mean.”

“They wheeled you in for ultrasound while you were asleep. After I transferred Nightmare in you, we had to check if the children were alright. Your bleeding stopped but we weren’t sure if the children were alive. We had to check every day to make sure they were alright.” V dug his hands in his pockets and showed you the print outs of the ultrasound scans, “The doctor said they’re as big as cherries now.”

You looked at the ultrasounds and you saw two cherry-sized dots in the paper. They were fetuses now, much more baby-like than before. You looked at your stomach and saw that it had a bit of a bump and felt firmer than usual.

“I guess I’m starting to show, huh?” You told him, your hand on your stomach, “Nine weeks pregnant. Wow.”

V scowled. You saw him curl and uncurl his hand, hesitant to do something. You simply laughed and took his hand, uncurled the fingers, and laid them on top of your belly. V simply looked at you, shocked.

“They can’t kick yet since they’re still tiny.” You told him, “But you can talk to them as early as now, you know?”

V smiled at you and kissed your forehead. He then lowered himself onto your stomach and started talking, “Hey, guys. It’s me. Your father.”

You simply laughed because you wondered how interesting and how wonderful it would be to have V be the father of your children. You saw how he was unsure of everything and hesitant to make even the slightest of risks… but he went all out just to save you and the children. You’d forever be thankful to him for that. You’d make sure that your children know all about what happened that day.

As V was talking to the babies in your belly, constantly telling them how beautiful their mother is, how amazing of a cook you were, how great you were at treating Nero (who he introduced as their big brother, technically), and how they were about to meet a shit ton of people once they get born, the door opened.  
  
“Hey, dad. Good morn---” Nero marched in, Kyrie holding his hand, but once he was that V was beside a very awake you, he instantly beamed.  
  
“Mom!” He launched at you, hugging you, almost knocking you back down on the bed.  
  
“Oof!” You had the wind knocked out of you, but you hugged him tightly as well. Kyrie hurried outside to tell the entire crew (who apparently stayed in Fortuna as well) that you were awake. Nero let go of you, only to have Dante rush to your side and hug you.

“Hey, kiddo!” Dante said, nuzzling your hair into his face, “Thought you were a goner!”

“You know what they say…” You laughed, “It’s pretty hard to kill a bad weed.”

“And you’re the worst one among them.” Dante ruffled your hair once more.

You heard a loud shriek coming from the door, and in came rushing Nico, rushing to hug you after pushing Dante out of the way (quite violently, to be honest. But Dante didn’t mind).

“Sweet Jesus! You’re awake!” She hugged you so tightly, you had to cough a couple of times. She jumped back, shocked at how much energy she put in to give you a hug. She then apologized.  
  
“Nah, girl. We good.” You beamed, “So… what do you think of the hair?” You twirled a lock of hair within your fingers.  
  
“Black’s a pretty color on you, pumpkin.” Nico smiled at you.

Trish and Lady stood at the end of your bed, Lady waving at you. You had to wave back at the both of them. Trish gave you a silent nod, softly smiling and thankful you were awake.  
  
“Did you guys know…” You told all of them, once they all found a place to sit, “…that I almost died back there?”  
  
V narrowed his eyes at you, “Yes. And you need to stop doing that. You’re gonna be a mother now.”  
  
“Noted.” You mirrored the expression on his face.

Dante laughed at the both of you, “You two really should start working better together. You’re about to be parents now. Knives, you can’t go jumping to conclusions like the one you just did.” He said, looking at you, “And, V… you can’t just call people useless and expect them to be okay with it. Got it?” V nodded.

“And, also…” Nero said, chewing on an apple he brought along, “If you guys are faced with any kind of trouble, you know we got your back, right?” He smiled.  
  
“Yes.” You and V said, together.

“Ooh, I’m so glad this family’s back together again.” Nico shook with joy, “Also… it was only that night that I found out that this little missy’s name over here…” She put an arm around you, “…is Y/N.”

“Yeah…” You sort of squinted. It sounded embarrassing, and you weren’t used to anyone other than V calling you with your real name. You chuckled, “I still prefer to be called Knives, though.”

“Suuuuuuuuuuuuuure.” Nico winked at you, “_Y/N._” You immediately hit Nico in the arm.  
  
“So, did you guys see the babies yet?” Trish asked you, leaning forward on the couch.  
  
“Yeah. V showed me the ultrasound.” You lifted your shirt a bit, “Look, they’re actually showing a bit.”

You heard the crew collectively release and “awwww”. It made both you and V smile.

“You have to think of baby names now!” Lady clapped her hands, “Any ideas?”  
  
V’s face was blank when you looked at it. It was obvious that he doesn’t have any idea what to name your kids. You had a creeping suspicion that he wants to name the child either “William” or “Blake” if it was a boy. You didn’t have any idea what he’d want to name them if one or both of them were girls. But you remembered what you promised your mother so you heaved a soft sigh.  
  
“Well, this isn’t an idea, strictly speaking… but when I was still out cold, I was _somewhere_.” Everyone looked at you attentively, “I went to where my mom was. I actually saw her again, guys. She looked nice.” Lady smiled as Dante nodded supportively. V held your hand while Nero kept biting on his apple, Kyrie continuously peeling another one for Nico.

You continued, “At the end of the dream ---or whatever it was--- she made me promise one thing.” You looked at V, “She made me promise to name one of the twins after her.”

“Woah. That’s actually a pretty good idea.” Dante smiled, “What was your mother’s name?”

You laughed, worriedly looking at V, “Her name is… _Angela_.”

Dante’s smile dropped and looked at V. He had a blank stare on his face.

“If it’s a boy, then…” V started, “We’d have to name it…”  
  
“Angelo…” You finished his sentence for him, worried he might not like it. You knew he carried the memories of Vergil in him, especially from the time when he was turned into Nelo Angelo. You knew it carried bad memories for him. However, V simply sighed and smirked.

“What a better way to get over a nightmare than to name something you love with it, am I right?” He smiled. You heard everyone release a relieved sigh.

“So, you mean to tell me…” You looked at him, smiling the biggest smile you’ve ever done, “…you love your children?”

“More than anything in the world.” He told you, “But not as much as I love you.”

He kissed your forehead and hugged you, while everyone beamed at the sight. Kyrie and Nero were seated happily with each other. The three ladies were all laughing, enjoying the view. Dante looked satisfied with how things turned out, even if he had to throw a few punches to get where you were. You and V were going to be parents now. Together, you were going to make the best of it. That’s a promise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, hello everyone! I am baaaaaaaaack!
> 
> I know the cliffhanger during the last chapter was pretty brutal, so I made up for it here. As you can see, V actually transferred Nightmare into Knives, so that he can keep her and the children alive... pretty much like how his three familiars kept him alive, pre-Qliphoth mission. It sort of works. I remember having this idea waaaaaaaaay ahead of time, even before I had this fic's first words written down. It sort of grew on its own and... ta-da! Here you go!
> 
> Also, how did you guys react to Knives meeting her mom in the afterlife? I actually had this idea for the first fic that I wrote down, but then, it still didn't feel too... right. Like it was too shallow. But now, with Knives about to become a mom and her needing the guidance of a parent, I felt like it was right. She found out a bit about who her father was, too. And she realized just how much in common she had with her mom.
> 
> Finally, we see what a family does. You don't necessarily need to be related by blood. You can choose your family members, and sometimes, the family members you choose are way better than people you're related with. So, here's to family!
> 
> This is probably the last chapter of this story. The next chapter I have is an epilogue of sorts. So please watch out for that!
> 
> Magical shout out to @KatKaotic87! Yes, girl. You get a shout out. Again.
> 
> You guys have no idea how much this girl went from "casually reading my fics" to "actually making a positive change in my life". She's helped me out countless times... In fact, she helped me out with coming up with ideas for this fic. She's technically a co-writer. She helped me realize that I wasn't as much of a shitty writer as I thought I was because she loves what I write, and constantly reminds me of that fact. So, thanks Kat! I really don't know what I'd do without you.
> 
> So, anyway, guys! Please leave a comment about how my story has affected you? Did it make you smile? Did it make you want to punch V? Did it make you want to blame a pregnant woman? What? Anything at all! Let me know in the comments section. Also, many thanks to those who has left comments, are about to leave comments, and will never leave comments but leave kudos. Also thank you to those who clicked on my fic at least once. You guys really do inspire me.
> 
> Again, stay safe. Drink lots of water. And I LOVE YOU LIKE VERGIL LOVES POWER.
> 
> Stay motivated, guys! <3


	8. Epilogue

_-After four years…-_

You stirred in your sleep as you heard tiny footsteps approaching your door. V groaned beside you, obviously hearing the footsteps as well. He held you tighter, rejecting the reality that he’d have to wake up once the footsteps turn to knocking on the door.

_Knock, knock._

“Your children are at the door,” V mumbled, his eyes still closed. Sleep still pretty obvious in his voice.

“They’re your children, too.” You mumbled exactly like him, your body straining because of all the hard work you put in yesterday.

_Knock, knock._

“Ugh, whatever. Let them in.” V said, reluctantly rolling off his sleeping position and sitting up. He let you go as you rolled over to the side of the bed, getting up and going to the door. You wrapped your naked form with your bathrobe as you reached for the door. You turned the knob to see two girls standing side by side, a little over four years of age. Both of them had dazzling silvery white hair, the mark of the children of Sparda. One had twinkling blue eyes, and the other one had an enchanting set of green eyes. They were fraternal twins, but aside from their eye color, they look practically identical to the untrained eye.

“Mommy…?” The blue-eyed little girl said, scratching the sleep off of her eyes, “Evey had a nightmare again.”

Eva’s green eyes were puffy from crying. She was still sniffing while holding onto her sister’s hand tightly. She looked so delicate, like a twig on an old tree that was about to break.

“Oh, Evey. Come here.” You said, opening your arms to little Eva. Eva rushed to your hug and buried herself into your chest. You carried her in your arms while offering a hand to the other twin, “Come, Ella. Let’s go to the bed.”

Angela held your hand as she continued to scratch the sand out of her eyes. She climbed onto the bed and immediately snuggled beside V and fell asleep at the drop of a hat. V immediately put her on his lap to cradle her against his chest. You stood there, tapping Eva’s head gently while looking at V. He was always so gentle with your daughters. It was almost amazing how he was doing as a dad. He looked so at peace while slowly rocking Angela to sleep. He had a soft smile on his face as he breathed slowly, looking at his daughter’s slumbering face. You had to smile a bit, but he saw you looking at him.

“What…?” He asked you, bewildered.

“Oh, nothing…” You laughed, “Just admiring how wonderful of a dad you are.”

“Explain.” He narrowed his eyes at you. You sighed as you slowly walked to your side of the bed, and sat there with Eva still hanging onto you.

“Well…” You said, “Evey, do you think daddy’s a good daddy?”

“Huh?” Eva said, looking at you then at V. Once her eyes returned to you, “Daddy’s alright, but he isn’t Uncle Dante.”  
  
Both you and V had to chortle softly. You thought you didn’t endure twenty hours of labor just to birth these girls only for them to prefer Uncle Dante.

You remembered that day clearly. It was a beautiful day in May and you were all celebrating V’s birthday. It was only your eighth month but your stomach was already so big and full, you could barely see your feet below your tummy. You were on the way to the restaurant that Dante reserved when your water broke inside the car that V was driving. He instead drove you to the hospital and, twenty hours and a lot of cuss words at V later, Angela and Eva Sparda were born. Angela was born a minute and a half earlier than Eva, and at the start, they were both so tiny, V could carry the both of them in his arms. Almost as soon as visitors were allowed, the entire crew rushed to the hospital to see the twins. Out of all of them, Dante was the most excited to see your children. You and V didn’t tell him you were carrying girls. You wanted it to be a surprise. When he found out that you named both the girls after your mothers, you could swear you saw Dante cry. Again, he blamed it on the rain… but he was inside the hospital… and the weather forecast didn’t foretell rain to come within the next week.

It really took an entire village to raise the children. You lost count of how many sleepless nights you had waking up to the children crying or needing a change. You and V would take turns waking up, and when both of you were already at your limit, Dante, Lady, and Trish decided to help. When _they _reached their limit, Nero, Nico, and Kyrie had to step in. Angela wasn’t a fussy baby, but Eva sort of was. When feeding, Angela just needed her mobile turned on, her blankie on her, and a bottle of milk to feed onto. However, Eva needed to be held. She needed to be touched and she needed to hear your heartbeat as she fed from her milk bottle. During playtime, Angela would be brash and aggressive, toppling over blocks and throwing balls on walls while Eva just held her teddy bear (that eventually lost one of its eyes in due time) and looked at the ceiling fans. However, it was true that they slept and woke up around the same time. As they grew older, their sisterly bond became more and more obvious. Eva would be prone to nightmares and night terrors. She was scared of the dark, mostly. However, Angela would always be there, brave as always, to tell her everything is going to be alright. When Angela failed to fully calm Eva down, that’s when she’d take Eva to mommy and daddy.

After Nero and Nico permanently left the Red Grave City branch, V requested that the twins be given a room of their own. That was how your old room became the children’s room, and V’s old room became your room now. Whenever Eva would get her nightmares, Angela wouldn’t need to walk too far because your rooms were beside each other.

Right now, you noticed Eva’s breathing turn steady on your shoulder. You looked at her and noticed that she was already asleep. Wordlessly, you and V both turned to each other and gave each other a tired smile. He, then, put a sleeping Angela beside him on the bed while you put Eva beside her. The bed was a bit too small to fit all four of you, but the four of your decided to snuggle together and go to sleep once again. Angela turned in her sleep and hugged Eva, and V decided to hug his girls closer to him. You looked at this sight and before sleep took hold of you, you thanked the powers that be that this was your family.

V simply closed his eyes but didn’t fall back asleep. He just reveled in the soft sounds of his daughters’ breathing and the feel of your sides moving as you breathed in and out. He opened his eyes a bit to take a peek at you. Your eyes remained closed, your raven black hair pushed to the back. You were breathing slowly and one of your hands were on Eva’s hair. V closed his eyes again and wondered how, after five years of being together and after giving birth to the two beautiful girls sleeping between the both of you, you remained so breathtakingly beautiful to him. Your eyes had deep bags under them due to the lack of sleep you’ve had to endure while taking care of the twins. Your hair was always in a messy bun when you were awake since the twins have a habit of pulling on people’s hair. That habit made everyone in the shop (except Lady who kept her hair short and V whose hair, for some reason, the twins left alone) tie their hair back. You rarely wore makeup anymore since you were busy paying so much attention to the kids. But still… you would always smile, and that smile would warm the coldest corners of his heart. That smile of yours brought out the humanity in him, and that made you beautiful beyond measure.

Either way, he was thankful of you and of the family you’ve created with him. Life wasn’t easy, he thought. The both of you would still fight from time to time, but both of you would make up soon. There were a few times when he’d call you really stupid names, but (and he’d never say this out loud) he was really proud of you for standing up for yourself to him. It seemed to him that being a mother brought out the strong mother panther in you. Nothing scared you anymore… except probably the girls getting hurt. That meant V’s childish outbursts didn’t stir any fear in you. Also, he also knew that _you knew_ that no matter what he called you and no matter how childish he acted, he loves you. To V, that’s what mattered. In as much as he wanted to be loved and protected, he wanted to love and protect as well. Now, with Angela and Eva in your lives, it just makes life worth living.

He opened his eyes fully to see the three wonderful girls beside him, probably staying in dreamland. He sighed. He whispered to the two girls that he loves them before kissing the crowns on their heads. He sighed before he kissed your lips and whispered that he loves you, too…

…and there was something that he had to do before the day was done.

\--- ---

“...and that, my little biscuits, is how your mom sliced off a Geryon Knight’s head.” Dante retold the story of how you killed a demon to your daughters who were each seated on his lap. He had his hair tied back and a very distinct 5 o’clock shadow was on his face. You were seated beside V, who was reading a book beside you while you were listening to what Dante was saying. The three of you were seated on a couch across from each other. Lady was in the driver’s seat while Trish was riding shotgun.

Since Nico took the van with them to Fortuna, Dante decided it was about time that their branch had a van of their own. So, that’s when he bought an almost identical Minotaurus. Unlike Nico’s van, this van was very faded mint green color, with red neon lights outside. Dante made the girls choose the color. You sort of hated the fact that it looked like a Christmas tree on wheels, but you appreciated its convenience.

You rarely went with the crew on demon hunting assignments anymore. However, even though you missed it, you didn’t want to leave your kids alone. And besides, V made you promise not to risk your life again, so you decided to play it safe and wait for him and the gang to come home. On the slight chance that you were in Fortuna helping out Nero and Nico on a mission, you’d leave the girls to Kyrie and join the group. However, V would only let you fight from afar and use Nightmare in your stead. You missed killing demons, though. That’s why Dante took it upon himself to tell the girls how good a demon hunter their mom was. However, sometimes Dante forgets that he’s talking to four year olds. At first, you’d remind Dante to cut down on the gore, but you saw how your daughters’ eyes would light up whenever Dante would go all out on his stories. After that, you’d just stay there to make sure he gets the details correctly.

“Oh, and did I tell you about the time when your mom almost died?” Dante beamed at the girls. Eva gave off a shocked face while Angela was sort of shaking her head. V peeked over his book and muttered.

“Which one? She almost died at least three or four times.” V muttered, making you hit him on his arm. He looked at you, flatly with an exasperation to match, “Ouch.”

“Seriously, Dante. I don’t think the kids would want to hear that.” You smugly commented.

“But, Mommy! I know I do.” Eva looked at you, her emerald eyes twinkling with curiosity.

“Mhmm. Me, too! Me, too!” Angela echoed her sister’s curiosity. Dante gave you a shrug and you just chuckled and smiled.  
  
“Fine. Go ahead.” You said. You sort of snuggled closer onto V as you laid your head on his shoulder, trying to read what he’s reading. He instinctively went and put his arm around you and kissed your crown.

Dante retold the story of how you found out your were pregnant with the girls and how you didn’t tell V. He also told them how V broke up with you.  
  
“…Would you believe your dad actually called your mom ‘useless’?” Dante said to both the girls. The girls both nodded.  
  
“Oh, we’ve heard them fighting before.” Angela said, icy blue eyes sparkling with the sun.

“Yeah… Ella’s right, Uncle Dante.” Eva muttered, “This one time, Daddy called Mommy useless, then Mommy got angry and hit Daddy on the forehead with a flip flop.”

Both you and V peeked over the edge of the book to look at the girls sort of reenacting the whole fight sequence while seated on Dante’s lap. Dante was laughing at the girls pretending to be you and V. When Eva hit Angela’s head with an imaginary flip flop, you saw V raise a hand to his forehead.  
  
“That hurt, you know.” V whispered to you, still looking at the girls.

“It should. That should teach you about calling me useless.” You replied, “And I’d do it again the next time. So, watch your mouth.”

“Would you hit me again if I do this?” He lifted a corner of his lips and covered your faces with his book. He then proceeded to kiss you, gently at first then deeply… just the way you liked it. But you knew the girls would see you so you broke the kiss before things got serious.

“Not… if you did something like that.” You smiled, a blush obvious on your face, “I really wouldn’t mind if you kept doing _that _with your mouth.”

“Huh.” V huffed, smiling at you.

“...and of course, your mom was bleeding because she was having a miscarriage.” Dante said, his tone more sullen now. The twins looked at him like he was telling them a horror story. You thought that it would scare them… because they were the ones who were supposed to die in that story.

“What did you do, Uncle Dante?” Angela said. Eva looked like she was about to cry, but Dante simply patted her head and looked at you and V.  
  
“Well, all I did was carry your mom into the van… but the person who really saved your lives…” He poked Evey and Ella’s noses one by one, “…is your dad.”

“What did Daddy do?” Eva asked, almost a whisper.

“Hmph. Why don’t you let him tell you?” Dante chuckled, leaning back into the couch. The twins looked at you and V, waiting for V to answer. You looked at V and gave him a supportive nod. Your head stayed on his shoulder as he closed the book in front of him.

“I…” He started, struggling with his words, “I just found out that I was going to be a father… and right then and there, I was about to lose the three girls I’ve ever cared about. So, what I did was…” He patted your head as you snuggled into him closer, “I gave Nightmare over to your mother. I expected him to take care of all three of you, bring the two of you back, and later protect all three of you from harm.” V smirked, “…And I think it worked.”

“Daddy’s so cool.” Angela muttered.  
  
“Cooler than me?” Dante said, pretending to be hurt.  
  
“Of course not, Uncle Dante!” Eva said, hugging Dante. Angela hugged him, too. All three of them proceeded to laugh. Meanwhile, you and V just sighed at how strange yet how wonderful it was to watch your children react to stories about you.

“So, Mommy… does that mean you can summon Nightmare? Kind of like how Daddy summons Griffy and Shadow?” Eva asked you, obviously mispronouncing Griffon’s name.

“Yeah, but it isn’t the same.” You answered, “Griffon and Shadow are easier to handle because they’re smaller. Nightmare is enormous. I can only call him out when I’m protecting your father, you know.”

“Where does he live, Mommy?” Angela asked.  
  
You pointed at your head, “He lives in my hair, Ella dear.”

“And that’s why your mom’s hair is black.” Dante said, “It used to be that your dad had black hair.”

“Now it’s silver white! Like ours!” Angela said, fanning her long hair. Dante took both of his hands and messed the twins’ hair up almost in the exact same way he’d mess yours up back in the day. It made you pretty happy. V returned to reading, but the smile on his face didn’t leave. In his own way, he was pretty satisfied with how life turned out.

And that was enough for you... you guessed.

_Was it?_

_\--- ---_

Having a vacation once in a while was good, you thought. You watched the sun slowly sink into the horizon as you sat yourself onto the beachy sands of Fortuna. The sky was turning peachy orange and, in the distance, you saw Nero playing his with half-sisters. Dante would sometimes come along and play with them, too. Nico was with you for a bit, a while ago. You both caught up on what was happening in both Fortuna and Red Grave. From the sounds of things, nothing much has changed, except for the fact that Nero finally proposed to Kyrie... and Kyrie said yes.

“They’re planning to have a wedding sometime within the year.” Nico said, puffing a smoke into the air, “Of course, you’d have to come, right?”

“Duh, girl. Of course!” You smiled at her, “We’re family. We have to be there for each other.”

“Evey and Ella look like they’re having fun.” Nico laughed, pointing at the girls splashing water onto Nero and Dante at the distance. V was seated on a rock near the sea line, watching over them. Trish and Lady were nearby, talking to each other.

“Yeah, I want them to have as much fun as they can while they’re still young.” You sighed, “Dante keeps telling them about our demon hunting exploits. I think they’d want to jump into the business the first chance they get.”

“At least, they’d have a choice...” Nico muttered, “I don’t think any of us here got that. We all just became demon hunters by default.”

“But, you’re not, though?” You looked at Nico, confused.  
  
“Yeah, I don’t go into the field... but I give you all the weapons you need, so technically... I’m one, too.” Nico gave a single laugh. You echoed this and hugged Nico.  
  
“I missed having my big sister around, you know?” You sighed as you cuddled into her shoulder, “You always made a lot of sense. I like it.”

“Well, _someone _has to make sense over here. Without me, this family would fall into chaos.” Nico started laughing. You smiled because you knew she was right. A few moments later, Kyrie approached them and got Nico to help her out with something. Nico excused herself and you sighed, telling her it was alright to leave. You looked at her as she and Kyrie walked away. You looked at the girls who were now wet from head to toe. You saw Nero carrying them deeper into the ocean only for them to get caught under a wave. Dante laughed at them, only to get splashed by all three, making him wet with sea water as well. Trish, Lady, and V were all laughing at them.

As the sun set slowly, you smiled. _This was family_. It wasn’t the family you wanted. Definitely, it isn’t the most stereotypical of families on the book... but, it was exactly the type of family you needed. Everyone was there for each other, even if it came in Dante’s tough punch or it came in Nico’s wise words. No one got left behind. That realization made you happier than you could ever imagine.

You could imagine your mother watching you from the sky, smiling. She’d probably tell you she was happy for you. But, deep down in your heart, you knew there was something missing. You just didn’t have the words for it. You didn’t even know what it was. It was like a stuck piece of cloth on a door frame. You couldn’t pull it out and it doesn’t make sense. You don’t even know how it go there in the first place. Somehow, it was keeping you from moving forward.

Night time was slowly moving in, and the lamps on the shoreline lit up one by one. You saw the girls still playing along the shoreline with their brother and now, with Kyrie. You turned to V to catch him looking at you. You smiled at him and with that, he got out of his seat and walked towards you. You moved a bit to the side so that he could take a seat beside you.

“So... how was it? Watching the girls...” You asked him. He put his cane to the side as he tucked his knees behind his clasped hands.

“Tiring. Involves a lot of screaming.” He said, “But worth it.” He shook his head and smiled, “I just don’t see how you could deal with them every single day. You must be one hell of a mom.”

“You do a good job too, you know.” You affirmed him, “Being a dad.”

“I wasn’t to Nero, though.” He muttered sadly.

“That was a different you.” You put your arm around him, “From a different time. You made up for it now, anyway. He looks pretty happy to be with his sisters, though.”

“Can you just imagine how weird it must be... for your half-brother to be the same age as your dad?” He squinted, “But in reality, your dad is actually just a year older than you?”

“You know, dad...” You laughed, “You think too much. We’ll explain it to the girls if they start asking. Maybe they haven’t asked because their favorite Uncle Dante already told them about Vergil, though.”

V huffed, “That’s a possibility. What _hasn’t_ Dante told them?”

You were silent and you looked for the words in your head to describe a memory, “He... hasn’t told them about how we met yet.”

“Wow...” V looked at you, “That was almost five years ago, am I right?”  
  
“Mmhmm.” You nodded, “And if I remember correctly, you still scowl exactly the way you’re scowling right now.” You ironed his forehead with your index finger, “But... I remember seeing you for the first time that day and my first thought was---”  
  
“How handsome I was?” V interrupted you as a joke.  
  
“No, you idiot.” You whacked him lightly on the head, “My first thought was: ‘Wow, that’s a lot of tattoos.’” You sighed, “I didn’t know that a year after that, I’d be getting my own _hair tattoo... _and children.”  
  
“Time really does fly by, huh?” V looked at you, “I went from being born, struggling to survive, struggling to learn, struggling to love you... then now, struggling to become a good father.”

“You are a good father, V.” You smiled at him, kissing his cheek.

“Do you know the first thought I had after seeing you, though?” He asked you, his eyes looking into yours.

“Hmm... no. You’ve never told me. I’ve never bothered to ask, come to think of it.” You looked at your feet, trying to avoid his gaze. You were embarrassed at the thought.

“I first thought about how small you were... physically. I mean, you are _tiny_.” He laughed, to which you punched him in the arm again. The punch, he was able to avoid, “When I found out from Dante that you were a demon hunter too, I dreaded having you around because you looked more like you’d need to be saved than you doing the saving.” He paused, letting the sounds of the waves take over for a moment, “You can just imagine the shock I’d felt when I saw you behead that Geryon Knight before me. I was glad that, one, I was wrong... and, two, I wasn’t the demon whose head you were chopping off.”

“What are you trying to say?” You asked him. He then held your hand. The warmth of his palm seeped into yours: A message from his body to yours.

“I’m trying to tell you that I am wrong about a lot of things.” He gripped your hand tighter, “And, I think I get _you _wrong most of the time.”

You looked at him, wondering what he meant. You cupped his hand, holding it with both your hands. You nodded at him, urging him to go on.

“I know I call you all those really stupid things from time to time. I think you know that _I know_ that I was wrong about you then, too. But, the thing is...” He held your hands and caressed them gently, “Vergil was never alright with being wrong. I, on the other hand...” He looked at you in the eye, “...don’t mind being wrong if that meant I’d get to know you a little bit better with every thing I get wrong about you.”  
  
“V... I get what you mean. I get a lot of things wrong about you, too. And I have a tendency to jump to conclusions.” You told him, “But I don’t think we’d have to get everything wrong with each other. We just have to communicate better, I guess.” You looked into his green eyes, “That’s what couples do, right?”

“Right. But...” V said, letting go of your hands. He adjusted himself and he was now seated in front of you, “What if I told you that being a couple just isn’t enough for me anymore?”  
  
_What? _Your face seemed to scream this in confusion. What did he mean? Was he breaking up with you? Was he asking for a cool off? Did you do something wrong? That doesn’t make sense, you thought. He just told you about how he liked getting to know you. You were so confused.

“Y/N.” He called your name, “I want you to listen to me because this is the only time I’m going to tell you this.”

“Huh?” You looked dumbstruck.

“Y/N... Knives...” He mentioned you again, “We’ve been together for five years. We’ve battled demons, creatures, and each other in those five years. Being with you is like... _a living hell._”  
  
“_Excuse you?_” Your eyebrow raised. Was he trying to insult you?

“Sssh, let me finish.” V said, holding onto your hands. He was smiling when he continued, “But they did say that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. And, you’ve sent me to hell with all of the good you’ve done for me. I suffer every single day looking at you, loving you... But, when you smile at me, all that hell just goes away. All I see is that smile of yours... that smile that the girls got from you. I’m so thankful for that.” V sighed, “I still struggle with everything, but you were always there for me... loving me and accepting me, even if I do have a habit of calling you useless scum...”  
  
“...or an eyesore.” You added, laughing.  
  
“I hope you know I don’t mean it that way.” V winced.  
  
“Just try to avoid using it again the next time.” You continued to laugh, holding onto his hands, “Anyway, continue...”

“It might be a bit selfish of me, but I’d like you to continue handing me that love and acceptance.” V said, his eyes fixed straight... focused into yours.

“Wait... I don’t understand.” You frowned, “You said you didn’t want to be a couple anymore? But now, you’re asking me to continue loving you? What do you mean?”

“You know I do not have a way with words... Not like you do.” V said. You gulped as he unhanded you and looked into his back pocket, “That’s why I’m going to keep this short and simple.”

He held out his hand and on it was a black velvet box with golden trimmings. He opened it and inside was a golden ring with diamonds on it. The center was a full moon, sided by two crescent moons. Little diamonds danced around the moon face. V took the ring and held it out to you.  
  
“I love you.” He said, looking deep into your eyes. His emerald green eyes piercing deep into your soul, “Knives, please marry me.”

You were so shocked you covered your open mouth with your hands. He kept holding it out to you, expecting an answer. He was looking into your eyes, trying to see the answer in them... but all they expressed were shock. You slowly let go of your mouth, it still opened in shock. This was it. This was the missing piece, you thought.   
  
You wanted to be a Sparda, and with V asking to marry you, you were about to be one.  
  
“Oh my god! _YES! OF COURSE!”_You screamed at him, tears falling out of your eyes. The others heard your screaming and came running to where you were, obviously expecting something bad happening to you but once they saw V slipping on the ring on your left ring finger, they all smiled. After the ring was put on your finger, you launched yourself onto V, hugging him and holding him so tight, he fell back into the sand with you on top of him.

Angela and Eva ran to where V and you were, still obviously dripping wet.  
  
“Daddy, did Mommy say yes?” Angela asked, looking at V practically choking to death.  
  
“Mommy! You’re choking Daddy!” Eva said, tapping you on the shoulder.

“Oh, I’m sorry, V.” You said, pulling him up. He then hugged you while you were crying and he gave everyone a thumbs up.

“That just means you guys would have to attend two weddings soon, huh?” Nero said, smiling as he put his arm around Kyrie.

“Well, it doesn’t really matter to me.” Nico laughed, “Both o’ y’all already act married, so... what’s the point?”  
  
“Hey!” Nero said, to which Nico just slapped him stupid.

You took your girls and hugged them after letting V go. They both hugged you and asked you if you said yes.  
  
“Of course I did, biscuits! Did you know about this?” You asked them.  
  
“Yeah, Mommy! Daddy’s been planning it for months now.” Angela said, “He even took us to Tiffany’s to buy that ring you have there.”

“Did you...” You squinted at V, “...make them choose?”

“We _all_ chose.” V replied, “All three of us.”

“Did _you_ know about this?” You looked at Dante, Trish, and Lady.

“We may, we may not. Who knows?” Dante shrugged, not looking you in the eye.  
  
“Actually, yes we did. V told us to keep it a secret.” Trish said, flatly. Lady gave you the thumbs up.

You beamed at the family you have. Angela was sitting on your lap, while V was holding onto Eva. Nero and Kyrie were smiling at you while Nico was jumping up and down in glee. Dante was arguing with Trish as to why she had to reveal V’s secret, and Lady told them that the secret didn’t need to be kept anymore.

“Wow, what a family we have.” V smirked, the corner of his lip raised.

“Yeah, it’s weird.” You agreed, “But I think we hit the...”  
  
“_Jackpot._” Both you and V said, with smiles on your faces.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, everybody! Jiji here.
> 
> I am pleased (and a bit sad) to tell you that this is the official end of the Silence series. I hope you enjoyed the epilogue.
> 
> I actually really dragged my feet (or fingers) in writing this because I really didn't want it to end... but of course, all things MUST come to an end. So, this is it. THE END.
> 
> I introduced all of you guys to Angela and Eva Sparda, V and Knives' kids. If you wanna know what they sort of look like, think of a very young Elle Fanning. But turn one of them into a green eyed girl. They're supposed to be fraternal twins, but they almost look identical. Think... Mary Kate and Ashley, if you were old enough to remember them. ^^
> 
> I hope you all like this fic. I really worked my hardest to write this. There were times when my headspace would be all muddled, but I still tried my best to give the ideas some justice. I hope I made all of you proud.
> 
> I'd like to thank each and everyone of you who took the time to read my fic, especially to those who read this up to the very end. I appreciate all of you. Thank you so much.
> 
> Again, thank you to @Anozu for making the covers for my fic. They were really beautiful. Thank you so much!
> 
> And! Of course, to my "casual-reader-turned-real-life-Nico" @KatKaotic87. Thank you for inspiring me to keep writing. <3 And ssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssh. You're my co-creator. SSSSSSSSSSSSH. Just let it happen.
> 
> Thank you, all of you! And remember... I LOVE YOU LIKE VERGIL LOVES POWER!


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